Trump Administration Rescinds Biden-Era Ban on M-44 Cyanide Devices for Predator Control on Public Lands

The Trump administration is lifting a ban on the use of cyanide bombs on public lands. The Bureau of Land Management will once again allow the use of M-44 devices, according to an internal April memorandum reviewed by The New York Times. The memorandum, first reported by Public Domain, a Substack newsletter focused on public lands, authorizes the Bureau of Land Management to resume use of the devices.

The Biden administration had banned M-44 devices in 2023 because they were too dangerous to people and wildlife. Cyanide bombs, also known as M-44 devices, spray a lethal dose of sodium cyanide, a highly toxic pesticide, when triggered by a biting animal.

They are intended to kill coyotes, foxes and other animals that prey on livestock, protecting cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock on farms and ranches across the West.

But the devices can also kill or injure people, pets and endangered species. In 2017, 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield and his dog were sprayed by a cyanide bomb near their Idaho home. The dog, Kasey, collapsed and died.

Canyon Mansfield was rushed to a hospital and treated for temporary blindness. " The reversal returns to a practice halted two years ago after the Biden administration determined the risks outweighed the benefits for western ranchers. The devices had drawn national attention after the 2017 incident involving Canyon Mansfield.

That event, which left a teenager temporarily blinded and his dog dead, fueled arguments that the spring-loaded traps posed unacceptable hazards even when placed on public lands near private property. Environmentalists and animal-rights activists have objected to the policy shift.

The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is proceeding despite those objections, relying on the April memorandum to classify the devices within existing legal and environmental frameworks.

The Bureau of Land Management, part of the Interior Department, oversees vast western territories where livestock operations intersect with public lands used by predators. Sodium cyanide's rapid action makes the M-44 effective for its intended purpose but also explains why accidental triggers can prove fatal within minutes.