Help Us Ban Compound 1080

Federal Legislation to Ban Compound 1080 in the U.S.

A federal bill we worked on for a nationwide ban on two deadly and indiscriminate poisons used for wildlife control--Compound 1080 and the sodium cyanide used in M-44s--was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) on May 2, 2019. The bill was called the "Chemical Poisons Reduction Act of 2019," H.R. 2471, aka "Canyon's Law," in honor of former M-44 victim (and now activist) Canyon Mansfield of Pocatello, Idaho.

This bipartisan legislation, co-introduced with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), gained significant cosponsorship, as it was common-sense, tax-saving, nonpartisan legislation that should be supported without resistance as an essential public safety measure by all elected officials.

• Read press release from Rep. Peter DeFazio announcing bill
• Text of bill, H.R. 2471, "The Chemical Poisons Reduction Act of 2019," will soon be posted at this link
• History of bill in Congress

Compound 1080 Victim?

Brooke and Cliff Everest of Bozeman, MT, lost their beloved dog, an American Brittany named Bea, whiile on a rafting trip on the White River in Utah. Bea suffered the agonizing and classic symptoms of Compound 1080 poisoning after an encounter with a sheep carcass.
Read their letter | Read press release

What is Compound 1080?

It’s toxic! One teaspoon of Compound 1080 could kill 100 people. And there is no known antidote. It is colorless, has no odor or taste, and it dissolves easily in water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has placed sodium fluoroacetate—Compound 1080—in the Toxicity Category I indicating the highest degree of acute toxicity, for acute oral toxicity.

Once exposed, victims of 1080 poisoning die slowly. Symptoms are not immediate—they begin to appear half an hour or more after exposure and may last from hours to days. Symptoms typically include a cycle of repeated vomiting, involuntary hyperextension of the limbs, convulsions, and collapse. Victims can also experience heightened anxiety, hallucination, intense pain, and deep depression. Compound 1080 is so potent that animals eating tainted carcasses—even months after that animal has died—can succumb to secondary poisoning.

With the new specter of terrorism, why does the government continue to support production and export of one of the world's deadliest poisons?

• Read our esssay, "Two Killers that Need to Go," about Compound 1080, lethal M-44 sodium cyanide devices, and legislation currently in the works to ban both
• Read our comprehensive "Ban 1080 Newsletter," published in Winter 2002.

History

Building on research conducted by a Belgian scientist at the end of the 19th century, Compound 1080--sodium fluoroacetate—was developed in the U.S. as a rodenticide and mammalian predacide. Its use for these purposes in the U.S. began in the 1940s.

In 1972 President Nixon issued Executive Order 11643 banning the use of poisons to control predators on Federal lands. Shortly thereafter, the EPA issued PR Notice 72-2 that cancelled all registered predator control uses of sodium fluoroacetate, sodium cyanide, and strychnine. Despite the ban, pre-1972 stockpiles were never recalled or destroyed and this poison is still illegally used today to kill wolves, coyotes, and eagles.

Predator Defense Keeps Compound 1080 Out of Oregon

Predator Defense led a three-year campaign to keep Compound 1080 collars out of Oregon. After the EPA and Oregon’s Department of Agriculture gave a green light for the collars use, Predator Defense went to Oregon’s Governor, John Kitzhaber. As an emergency room physician, Governor Kitzhaber recognized that if poisons are present they will fall into the wrong hands. He assured Predator Defense that he would work to have its use banned. The Governor asked the USDA to voluntarily pull the registration so these toxic collars would never be used in Oregon. In 1998 it became illegal to use Compound 1080 in Oregon.

Illegal Use of Compound 1080 Still Killing Wildlife and Pets

Wildlife law enforcement officials have documented Compound 1080 poisoning of wolves on national forests in Central Idaho. In Grand Junction, Colorado, in just one incident, Compound 1080 killed approximately 30 pets and at least 35 birds. Because of the time lapse between ingesting this poison and the onset of sickness, as well as the incidence of secondary poisonings, the actual body count is likely much higher than can be documented.

1080 Livestock Protection Collars

Legal use of this poison began again in 1985 when the Environmental Protection Agency granted the U.S. Department of Interior registration for the use of Compound 1080 in the form of toxic collars worn by sheep and goats. By then the device was called the Livestock Protection Collar (LPC). In 1986, the authority for the use of these devices was transferred to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife Services (formally Animal Damage Control).

Worn around an animal’s neck, the collar contains two rubber bladders holding Compound 1080 which will be ingested if a predator, such as a coyote or dog, pierces the collar while attempting to take down the animal. These toxic collars are the only legal way Compound 1080 can be used in the U.S. and USDA APHIS’s Wildlife Services is the only agency registered to use them. Wildlife Services is now allowed to use these collars in Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

• Animal Deaths from M-44s & Compound 1080 in 2010

The World’s Only Known Manufacturer of Compound 1080

The Tull Chemical Company in Oxford, Alabama is the only legal producer of Compound 1080 in the U.S. It is a small, family-owned business that has been making this toxin for decades. Most of the Compound 1080 is exported to New Zealand.

• Threat leads NZ authorities to ask about local plant's customers -
  Anniston Star, Mar. 11, 2015

 

See Predator Press Winter 2002 newsletter for more on Compound 1080 and Predator Defense’s field investigation in Alabama.

Compound 1080 in the News

EPA leads cleanup after fire devastates Tull Chemical Company in Oxford
- ABC 3340 News, Oct. 21, 2024

Fire breaks out at Oxford’s Tull Chemical Company
- AL.com, Oct. 19, 2024

TULL Chemical in the US that made 1080 has shut down … where will NZ now source 1080 from now?
- Uncensored, Aug. 24, 2018

Banned poison was used to kill wolf
- Idaho Mountain Express, Oct. 21, 2016

Threat leads NZ authorities to ask about local plant's customers
- Anniston Star, March 11, 2015

Wildlife investigators: Poison killed Colorado wolf
- Associated Press, Jan. 10, 2011

Predator Poison Killing Central Idaho Dogs
- Associated Press, May 15, 2010

Idaho Falls Post Register reports on Compound 1080 Killing Dogs in Idaho
- comments by Melissa Waage on NRDC staff blog, May 15, 2010

Alabama Congressman Tries to Sabotage Wildlife Poison Bill
- John Fleming, Anniston Star, Aug. 19, 2008

Predator Poison: DeFazio Plans to Ban Deadly Toxins
- Camilla Mortensen, Eugene Weekly, Nov. 15, 2007

1080 Is Not a Humane Poison: International Journal Publishes RSPCA Paper
- RSPCA Media Release, Nov. 11-15, 2007

Rep. DeFazio Pushes Ban of Alabama-Made Poison Exported to NZ
- Jay Reeves, Associated Press, Nov. 8, 2007

DeFazio Supports Ban on 1080
- Kera Abraham, Eugene Weekly, Jan. 12, 2006

CIA Report Cites Iraq’s Test of [Coyote] Poison
- by Michael Milstein, The Oregonian, May 28, 2005

1080 Found in Iraq by Survey Group
- George Smith, Ph.D., GlobalSecurity.org, May 25, 2005

Maker of Lethal Chemical Fights a Ban
- Jay Reeves, Washington Post, Dec. 19, 2004

Alabama Poison Plant Targeted Over Environmental Terrorism
- Jay Reeves, Associated Press, Dec. 12, 2004

Wolf Poisons Raises Alarms About Its Terrorism Potential
- Michael Milstein, The Oregonian, Nov. 3, 2004

Dog Poisonings As Terrorism
- Todd Wilkinson, Headwaters News, Aug. 5, 2004

Congressman wants Tull Chemical in Oxford Closed
- Charlotte Tubbs, Annison Star, Mar. 6, 2004

Saddam Colonel "Saw Thousands Murdered" (with Compound 1080)
- Steve Boggan, The Evening Standard (London), Ap. 17, 2003

Group Seeks Federal Ban Of Poison Used On Coyotes
- Michael Milstein, The Oregonian, Dec. 5, 2001

Statement Regarding Toxicity of Sodium Fluoroacetate
- Arbor Occupational Medicine, Nov. 12, 2001

Compound 1080 in New Zealand

Watch documentaries by award-wining filmmakers, TheGrafBoys, about the use of 1080 in New Zealand, where it is broadcast from aircraft to kill possums, but also kills deer, horses, dogs, and other animals:

• Poisoning Paradise - Ecocide New Zealand takes you into the drop-zone of aerial 1080 operations, beneath the canopy, where the birds and animals die. This film won four international awards and fully exposes the truth about a culture that is an international embarrassment.
• A Shadow of Doubt - Preview of documentary demonstrating "in the field" dangers of the effects of 1080 poison
• 1080 Poison in New Zealand - documents the indiscriminate nature of 1080 poisoning

 

Learn more about the use of 1080 in New Zealand:

• Stop 1080 Poison website
• 1080 Science website

 

Read about the link between 1080 use in New Zealand and a family-owned American chemical plant, Tull Chemical Company in Alabama. We investigated Tull in 2001-2002.

• Threat leads NZ authorities to ask about local plant's customers - Anniston Star, Mar. 11, 2015