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Family sues after child sprayed

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho couple has sued the U.S. government, saying their teenage son still suffers headaches after a predator-killing trap that federal workers mistakenly placed near their home doused him with cyanide.

Mark and Theresa Mansfield of Pocatello filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Idaho seeking more than $75,000 in economic damages and more than $75,000 for pain and suffering.

Their son, Canyon Mansfield, then 14, was playing with his dog last year when he triggered the trap that the U.S. Department of Agriculture placed to kill coyotes. The dog named Casey started convulsing and then died.

The devices, called M-44s, are embedded in the ground and look like lawn sprinklers but spray cyanide when they are set off. They are meant to protect livestock but sometimes kill pets and injure people. They killed about 12,500 coyotes in 2016, mostly in the U.S. West.

The traps drew increased scrutiny after The Associated Press reported that the teen was injured months after the government decided to stop using the devices on federal lands in Idaho. U.S. officials have said the cyanide trap was placed in error.

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