BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Environmental groups have petitioned the U.S. Agriculture Department to ban its use of cyanide-ejecting devices aimed at killing coyotes after one went off near a boy and his dog earlier this month, killing the dog.

The petition filed late Tuesday by the Western Watersheds Project and other groups starts a formal process to prevent the department from using the devices across Idaho and mandate existing device removal. The devices are planted to kill coyotes and other livestock predators.

They killed about 12,500 coyotes in 2016, mostly in Western U.S. states. Canyon Mansfield, 14, has suffered headaches since he was exposed March 16 while checking out a device near his home on the outskirts of Pocatello. The Agriculture Department did not respond Wednesday to an emailed request for comment.

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