Purpose: Bans the possession, manufacture, and distribution of lethal Compound 1080. Existing stockpiles of Compound 1080 would need to be destroyed and the use of this poison by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to poison wildlife would be prohibited.
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Status: Referred to the House Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture.
Action: SUPPORT. Please contact your U.S. Representative and urge him or her to support H.R. 4775. Tell your Representative that Compound 1080 is a highly toxic, slow-acting poison currently used to kill predators, such as wolves, in an effort to protect livestock from predation. This dangerous poison should be banned as there are other, more effective humane alternatives available to protect livestock.
Talking Points for your letter:
- Compound 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate) is a highly toxic, slow-acting poison used in collars which fit around the neck of domestic goats or sheep. The collars are designed to rupture and release the poison when bitten by a predator.
- Compound 1080 is a colorless, tasteless poison that causes convulsions, frenetic running, excessive salivation, and death from respiratory failure 2 to 12 hours after the symptoms begin.
- According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, less than 1/20th of an ounce can kill a 150-pound human, and each livestock collar contains enough poison to kill six healthy human adults.
- There is no antidote for Compound 1080.
- In 2001, several reintroduced gray wolves in the Yellowstone area were illegally poisoned and killed with Compound 1080.
- Many alternatives exist to the use of this poison to address wildlife conflicts. While the presence of wildlife is often assumed to pose a risk to humans and/or livestock, on closer examination such situations often do not pose a serious threat at all. In fact, the use of Compound 1080 poses a greater risk to humans than the presence of wildlife.
- Given the unselective nature of this poison, the propensity for non-target and secondary poisoning, and the extreme and prolonged suffering endured by those poisoned by Compound 1080, the time has come to ban this poison.