It’s a misnomer to refer to spring-loaded sodium cyanide devices used to control marauding coyotes that attack sheep as “bombs,” an American Sheep Industry (ASI) Association executive says.
“It’s a misleading characterization,” Chase Adams, the association’s policy and information director, told the Western Livestock Journal, referring to M-44s commonly used to deter predators from savaging sheep herds.
Calling the controversial spring-loaded, canine-specific devices “bombs” implies that they are incendiary, when they are not, Adams said. “We are a strong supporter of the M-44 cyanide devices. They are baited in such a way that only canines are attracted. They are aimed at coyotes.”
Of $138 million in annual U.S. livestock losses, about $20.5 million are sheep losses, due primarily to predation by coyotes, Adams said, stressing that the use of M-44s is “tremendously important” to the nation’s sheep industry.
“The M-44 is the most targeted device we have specifically targeted at those problem coyotes. Nationwide, they are licensed and available for use in 16 states. Nationwide, we’re looking at the M-44 as responsible for 30 percent of coyote takes every year.”
In eastern states, Texas, and the Dakotas where ground terrain and territory size do not allow for effective aerial operations by fixed wing aircraft or helicopters, the percentage of coyote kills attributed to M-44 use is even higher—even up to 80 percent.
“I think the most important thing for the American Sheep Industry Association is to make sure the sheep industry has access to the tools we need to combat predation, which is the leading cause of loss,” Adams said, describing the emotional as well as financial toll coyote attacks on herds takes on ranchers.
“It’s heartrending to lose any of our flock. It’s very ugly. ‘Carnage’ is the right word for it.”
As of Jan. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the nation’s sheep population totals 5.23 million head. More than 50 percent of them spend time on public lands with large flocks in the West and smaller family flocks across the central and eastern regions.
“Sheep are tremendous stewards of the land. They are very effective at grazing noxious weeds without herbicides,” Adams said. “The most important thing is predation is the leading loss for sheep producers. It’s largely out of our control. It’s very frustrating. We need to make sure we have the tools in place for producers and control the best we can.”
A group called “Predator Defense” has been aggressively pushing for Congress to ban the use of M-44s and all wildlife poisons nationwide. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-04) reintroduced such legislation last March. Last August, Predator Defense joined 17 environmental and wildlife groups to petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban government use of M-44s for predator control.
“The Chemical Poisons Reduction Act of 2017” gained traction after a boy and his dog accidentally set off an unmarked M-44 device behind their house in Pocatello, ID. Its fumes killed the dog and hospitalized the boy with side effects. The ejectors can spray deadly doses of cyanide up to five feet.
“Will it take the death of a child to ban M-44s? We fear it might,” Predator Defense stated on its website. “M-44s are indiscriminate sodium cyanide devices used by government agents to kill livestock predators. They have already poisoned people and killed countless dogs and non-target wildlife. M-44s are a public safety menace. We have initiated and led national efforts to ban them since 1990.”
Jesse Thompson, executive secretary of the Montana Wool Growers Association who ranches with her husband Chance northwest of Havre, said M-44s are highly effective, especially since the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has cut funding significantly for aerial predation management in recent years.
“We have to rely on a lot of on-the-ground management. M-44s are a big part of that,” Thompson told WLJ, noting many Montana ranchers are putting increased emphasis on guard dogs to protect their herds.
A grizzly bear got into the sheep of one of her neighbors who uses M-44s, which the feds pulled from his use for three weeks because grizzlies were considered endangered at the time. “So, that hurt him significantly because that was his main tool for controlling predators,” she said. “It still made a difference.”
Montana sheep ranchers have been working diligently with their congressional delegation to maintain the use of M-44s despite critics wanting to eliminate them, Thomson said. Even federal wildlife officials find them useful—especially if there is a killing spree in an area.
“It’s a really important tool for ranchers to use. If they got rid of M-44s, it would hurt us greatly. Predation is our number one problem in the industry. It’s probably the number one reason ranchers get out of the sheep industry,” Thompson said.
With 230,000 sheep from 2016 to 2017, Montana ranks eighth in the nation for wool production. In 2015, its sheep population totaled 215,000. The two leading causes of death for sheep and lambs have been predators and adverse weather.
“The coyotes are everywhere,” she said, noting 12,000 sheep were killed by coyotes in Montana one year. One producer came up 400 to 500 lambs short last fall when he tried to sell them. Thompson remarked that her grandfather, who also raised sheep, once had a bumper sticker that read: “Eat more lambs—10,000 coyotes can’t be wrong.
Chase Adams of ASI said the public needs to understand the importance of food production. He said the U.S. sheep industry remains very strong and there’s a robust demand for American lamb and wool. Wool prices continuing at a sustained high are driving producer profitability, he said.
“Overall, America’s sheep producers are encouraged by what they are hearing from this administration,” Adams said, praising U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for their support and willingness to listen to concerns of stakeholders.
Adams said sheep producers are eager for positions such as Bureau of Land Management director to be filled in the Trump administration. “The sheep industry is in a strong position with increased demand for meat and wool. There are very positive market signals for producers out there,” he said. — Mark Mendiola, WLJ correspondent
