|
Dear Friend,
We're writing with immense gratitude to thank you for your role in helping us achieve a wonderful victory for people, pets and wildlife.
We are thrilled to announce that the U.S. Department of the Interior has banned M-44 use on all public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This means countless wild animals, including endangered species. will no longer be indiscriminately slaughtered on 245 million acres of the American landscape, a tenth of America's land mass. It also means people and pets can recreate on BLM lands--our lands--without fear of death and poisoning. Read our press release
How This Historic Victory Happened
This historic victory was made possible in large part thanks to so many of you speaking out to leaders over time, apply pressure and building the case, in combination with your donations, social media shares, and words of encouragement that have kept us going. Concurrent pressure by conservation organization has also play a role, e.g., the 2023 APA petition, jointly filed by Predator Defense and the Center for Biodiversity.
If you're curious what happened behind the scenes to push things over the top, a pivot point was reached in 2022 when we discovered that the Interior Department had submitted written testimony to a Congressional subcommittee saying they were open to banning M-44s on BLM lands. We were shocked and elated. We seized that moment by asking former Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and current Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) to have key members of Congress send a letter to the Interior Department requesting that BLM immediately ban M-44s on lands they administer to prevent further tragedies. The letter languished, so we continued to ask Rep. Huffman to assist us in eventually getting the Interior Department to respond. Hats off to him and his staff! Read Rep. Huffman's press release
The result of this shared endeavor is this BLM ban. It means a lot to us, as so many victims we've helped were injured or lost a dog on BLM lands. These include Canyon Mansfield, Dennis Slaugh, and many more.
We expect to have more to share in the coming week, as we have been working with several major media outlets. If their articles turn out well, we plan to share them on social media. You'll also be able to find them in our M-44 news section.
Next Steps
We hope this email bolsters your belief that good things can happen regardless of political dysfunction. This win provides momentum for ultimately banning cyanide bombs everywhere, so next up will be a full-court press for a full ban. We will exert pressure on the USDA to ban M-44s on all U.S. Forest Service lands, while also getting federal legislation passed to ban them on all public lands--federal, state and local. And we'll continue to push to end M-44 use by USDA Wildlife Services agents on private lands at the behest of ranchers.
How You Can Help
We'll share more ways to help ban all M-44 use as they unfold. Meanwhile, here are some ways you can help today:
Please accept our heartfelt thanks for all you do. None of it would be possible without you, and we simply cannot than you enough for caring about wildlife, for trusting in science, and for sticking with us and our work. Thank you!
For all that is wild and free,
Brooks Fahy
Executive Director
Predator Defense
* * * * *
History shows we blame predators for problems humans have caused.
Help us right this wrong. Support our work with a tax-deductible donation today.
* * * * *
| 
