The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was passed in 1818 and makes it illegal for people in the US to “take,” which means killing, injuring, or possessing, migratory birds in most circumstances. That includes accidental take, such as in oil spills, bioaccumuliation of poisons, or building on bird habitat.

New proposed rules would make accidental takes legal. This change would mostly impact industries (and of course, the birds that they kill), and has nothing to do with people who pick up bird remains on purpose. Please understand that “accidental take” isn’t being proposed in order to protect you if you accidentally hit an owl with your car or have a secret little collection of found songbird feathers on display in your dining room.

Do you know who wants to be exempt from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

Oil & Gas, who see hundreds of millions of birds die horrible deaths in their sludge pits every year in the U.S.

If industries like Oil and Gas become exempt from MBTA laws and aren’t taken to task for accidental take, they will not take responsibility for this impact in the environment. In fact, they’ll only get worse.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is one of the ONLY wildlife laws in the world that ACTUALLY has some teeth. Meaning, if you violate it, there may actually be consequences you can’t buy your way out of with wealth.

This proposed change is open to public comment right now. You do not need to enter your name or your email address. You may remain anonymous.

It will only take a moment, so please speak against this change. After you click the link, enter into the search bar the following: FWS-HQ-MB-2018-0090. This will bring up Migratory Bird Permits; Regulations Governing Take of Migratory Birds. From there you may comment on either document.

An example of what you may include in your comment- "I believe that this change to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act should not take place. The proposed changes to the MBTA are wrong and will in no way protect wildlife. Incidental take should be prohibited." You may also mention that this would remove any incentive an industry or corporation has to prevent accidental bird deaths.

Any comment, short or long, will help. You will be able to comment until March 19, 2020. Speak to friends and family, and encourage them to comment. Feel free to ping friends on Subeta who may not check the Current Events forums. Bird populations have been in decline for decades. Three bird species were declared extinct in 2019 alone. Alagoas foliage-gleaner was last seen in 2011, and officially declared extinct in 2019 following the destruction of its habitats by logging, charcoal production and conversion to agriculture. Cryptic treehunter was last seen in 2007, and declared extinct in 2019. Its forest habitat has been extensively logged and converted to agriculture. Poo-uli was last seen in 2004 and declared extinct in 2019, besieged by invasive species and disease.

I am not posting this to be debated on the "pros of deregulation." Anyone who attempts will be blocked.

Thank you for sharing this information. The Fish and Wildlife Service should be protecting birds from these greedy corporations, not giving in to their garbage. The fact that they'd even propose this change is shameful. I left a comment and I'll be sure to tell my friends about this.