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A "cyanide bomb" planted by U.S. predator-control agents targeting coyotes near homes and hiking trails in Idaho exploded when a boy handled the device, injuring him and killing his dog, authorities and relatives said on Friday.
Canyon Mansfield, 14, was playing with his yellow Labrador retriever, Casey, on Thursday afternoon near his home east of Pocatello when he saw what he thought was a sprinkler head on the ground and touched the device, causing it to detonate.
The explosion sprayed the boy and his 3-year-old, 90-pound (40 kg) pet with toxic cyanide gas, according to the boy's mother, Theresa Mansfield.
Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen, who described the devices as "cyanide bombs," said no notice was given to authorities about their placement.
“I’ve been a sheriff here for 20 years and worked for the office for 39 years, and I’ve never heard of leaving around a device that emits poisonous gas,” he said.
Nielsen said he intended to meet federal officials next week to “get to the bottom of this.”
originally posted by: Shamrock6
Literally anything comes near it and causes it to detonate and....that's it?
The M-44 ejector device is an effective and environmentally sound wildlife damage management tool. The spring-activated device delivers a dose of cyanide powder to targeted animals. It uses a cyanide capsule that is registered as a restricted-use pesticide by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The device can be used only by trained certifi ed applicators.
Except for the dog in your story, I guess?
Animals killed by M-44s show no overt signs of distress or pain. No secondary poisoning hazards are associated with M-44s.
You know ... if you booby-trap your vacation-in-the-woods cabin with a shotgun that blows away anyone busting in the backdoor ... you get to go to jail for this. How can the government be booby-trapping your neighbor's property with a deadly poison chemical weapon?