Join Western Watersheds Project for a free, public screening of Montana filmmaker Jamie Drysdale’s documentary film, Lethal Control.
The film takes an up close and personal look at the impacts of lethal predator control focusing on the use by the federal government of M-44 cyanide ejector devices. M-44s are currently used by the federal government on both public and private land in 14 states, including Montana. These “cyanide bombs” have caused serious injuries to unsuspecting people and the deaths of beloved family pets, and other non-target animals.
The film screening will be accompanied by a panel discussion led by Drysdale, WWP’s Executive Director Erik Molvar, Brooks Fahy of Predator Defense, and members of the Mansfield family, whose child and dog were sprayed by cyanide from an M-44 set by Wildlife Services outside Pocatello in 2017.
The film was Drysdale’s final project while getting his Masters of Environmental Journalism from the University of Montana. The documentary, slated to air on Montana PBS, provides penetrating insights into the costs and consequences of USDA Wildlife Services’ use of M-44 ‘cyanide bombs’ to kill native predators at the behest of the livestock industry.
Drysdale traveled to Washington, D.C., to present the documentary at a congressionally-sponsored screening on Capitol Hill organized by Predator Defense and the International Fund for Animal Welfare on April 2nd of this year. The film was introduced by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) who is sponsoring federal legislation to make the use of M-44s — by federal agencies or anyone else — a criminal offense nationwide.
