H.R. 4180

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4180 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4180

To prohibit the use of M-44 devices, commonly known as ``cyanide 
bombs'', on public land, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 26, 2025

Mr. Huffman (for himself, Mr. Cohen, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Norton, Mr. Min, 
Ms. Schakowsky, and Ms. Brownley) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 
the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To prohibit the use of M-44 devices, commonly known as ``cyanide 
bombs'', on public land, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as ``Canyon's Law''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Sodium cyanide is the highly toxic pesticide active 
ingredient used in M-44 devices, also known as ``cyanide 
bombs'', and is used to kill coyotes, foxes, and wild dogs 
suspected of preying on livestock and poultry.
(2) Sodium cyanide is registered for restricted use under 
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 
U.S.C. 136 et seq.) as a Category One acute toxicant, the most 
hazardous Environmental Protection Agency classification 
available, due to the harm it poses to people and the 
environment.
(3) Poisoning by sodium cyanide leads to central nervous 
system depression, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, 
paralysis, and blindness.
(4) The Environmental Protection Agency authorizes the use 
of M-44 devices nationwide, and in recent years, M-44s were 
used in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, 
Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
(5) In 2017, an M-44 device exposed an Idaho child to a 
sublethal dose of sodium cyanide with subsequent short-term and 
long-term medical complications. Two Wyoming children were also 
exposed to the poison from another M-44 device. Three family 
dogs died in these two separate incidents.
(6) More than 50 family dogs have been documented as killed 
by M-44 devices since 1990, and the full count is estimated to 
be significantly higher.
(7) The indiscriminate M-44 device commonly harms nontarget 
wildlife and people; at least 42 people have accidentally 
triggered a cyanide bomb causing exposure to cyanide gas and 
injuries since 1984.
(8) A Utah man, who was poisoned by an M-44 in 2003 and 
permanently disabled, died in 2018 with cyanide poisoning from 
exposure to an M-44 device listed as a contributing cause of 
death on his death certificate.
(9) M-44 devices kill targeted animals only 53 percent of 
the time. Thousands of nontarget species of animals have been 
killed by M-44s, including bald eagles, golden eagles, gray 
wolves, black bears, grizzly bears, bobcats, fishers, and 
family dogs.
(10) Despite the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
determining in 1993 that M-44 devices could kill endangered 
species like the California Condor, the use of the M-44 
continues in areas where endangered species are found and 
continues to result in the deaths of endangered species.

SEC. 3. USE OF M-44 DEVICES ON PUBLIC LAND PROHIBITED.

(a) In General.--Preparing, placing, installing, setting, 
deploying, or otherwise using an M-44 device on public land is 
prohibited.
(b) Removal.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, any Federal, State, or county agency that has 
prepared, placed, installed, set, or deployed an M-44 device on public 
land shall remove each such M-44 device from public land.
(c) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) M-44 device.--
(A) In general.--The term ``M-44 device'' means a 
device designed to propel sodium cyanide when triggered 
by an animal.
(B) Common names.--The term ``M-44 device'' 
includes any device that may be commonly known as an 
``M-44 ejector device'' or an ``M-44 predator control 
device''.
(2) Public land.--The term ``public land'' means any 
Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of a public 
land management agency.
(3) Public land management agency.--The term ``public land 
management agency'' means each of, or a combination of, the 
following:
(A) The National Park Service.
(B) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(C) The Bureau of Land Management.
(D) The Bureau of Reclamation.
(E) The Forest Service.
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