"A new memo abrogates a Biden-era ban on the controversial devices."
"The Trump administration has quietly opened the door to the resumed use of so-called “cyanide bombs” on Bureau of Land Management parcels across the country, according to an internal April 2026 memo. The memo shows that BLM has effectively abrogated a Biden-era ban on the deployment of the controversial devices on the agency’s land.
M-44s, also known as “cyanide bombs”, are poison traps — spring-loaded devices that spray a powder of sodium cyanide when triggered. They are used by USDA’s Wildlife Services — a federal agency that conducts predator control programs — to kill coyotes and other animals that interfere with ranchers and other industry groups.
M-44s gained national notoriety in 2017 when 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield and his dog were sprayed by a cyanide bomb that had been placed in the hills behind the Mansfield family home in Idaho. The dog, Kasey, collapsed and died while Mansfield was rushed to the hospital and survived.
In 2023, the Biden administration barred Wildlife Services from deploying M-44s on BLM lands, a move that was cheered by conservation groups."
