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New Mexico granting fewer cyanide bomb OKs for coyotes

4 years 3 months 2 weeks ago Sunday, December 08 2019 Dec 8, 2019 December 08, 2019 10:11 PM December 08, 2019 in News - AP Texas Headlines

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Records show New Mexico agricultural officials have approved fewer licenses for the use of cyanide bombs - a device deployed by ranchers to kill coyotes.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports records show state-issued licenses for cyanide bombs has declined from 86 in 2015 and 2016 to 54 in 2019. That's a 37% reduction.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week reauthorized the use of devices known as cyanide bombs targeting coyotes.

Ranchers say they still need the devices, also known as M-44s, to kill hungry coyotes, which can cost the industry thousands of dollars a year in livestock losses.

Environmentalists say the devices are a horrible way to kill coyotes and point to collateral damage inflicted on dogs and other animals. They say M-44s also present a risk for humans - even killing a Utah man last year.

New Mexico is one of five states with local agriculture departments - along with Montana, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming - that are authorized to deploy the devices. An M-44 is essentially a trap coated with bait and loaded with a cyanide capsule that ejects into the mouths of animals lured by the scent.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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