Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 | 2 a.m.
View more of the Sun's opinion section
Bravo to the Sun for voicing outrage at the Environmental Protection Agency’s reauthorization of the use of cyanide bombs against wildlife (“EPA is OK with risk of poisoning pets, people with cyanide bombs,” Dec. 9).
Cyanide bombs, also known as M-44s, resemble water sprinkler heads, and each is a combination of landmine and chemical weapon used against wildlife considered pests (i.e. coyotes). Problem is, they kill anything that triggers them, including more than 10,000 non-target animals, such as mountain lions, bears, bald eagles, wolves and pet dogs. A teenage boy was even temporarily blinded by one of these devices.
Death occurs within 1 to 5 minutes, meaning unbearable pain and brutal deaths for the unlucky animals, and humans, who activate them.
In Nevada, coyotes can be killed for any reason, at any hour of the day, any day of the year, by any means and with no limits; no license necessary. The persecution of coyotes isn’t hindered by any animal welfare regulations, but esteemed as a cultural tradition by hunters.
Nevada should be in the forefront among states for protecting wildlife, which brings so much enjoyment to residents and boosts our economy in the form of eco-tourism.
Thank you to the Sun for revealing, once again, the Trump administration’s war on wildlife.
