Compound 1080 under Attack

February 2005 -- The Tull Chemical Co., the only known producer of the Compound 1080, is again under attack, this time by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore).

Compound 1080 is a highly toxic pesticide used to control predators and pests. In the United States, the Department of Agriculture mainly uses the poison in sheep collars. The collars contain the poison, killing coyotes and other predators when they bite the sheep?s neck.

According to a recent Associated Press article, DeFazio has asked the Department of Homeland Security to ban the production of Compound 1080, citing as his reason the possibility of terrorists using it against the United States.

Although the poison is produced in the United States, the majority of it is shipped to New Zealand. According to the article, the United States uses less than four tablespoons annually for the production of sheep collars.

Environmentalists claim that secondary poisoning, animals that are killed from feeding on a poisoned carcass, is also a concern.

However, Tom McDonnell, director of natural resources and policy at the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI), says, ?secondary poisoning is a very minute possibility and the chances are very minimal.?

Although the Department of Homeland Security is investigating Compound 1080, it has no authority to ban it from production.