Companies can now get away with killing America’s birds

  • 📰 TheEconomist
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 46 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 22%
  • Publisher: 92%

Business News News

Business Business Latest News,Business Business Headlines

The Trump administration wants to end the decades-old practice of penalising the “incidental take” of protected birds

in 1896, a Bostonian socialite called Harriet Lawrence Hemenway read an article about the devastation of a colony of nesting birds by plume-hunters. Disgust at their grisly trade, which was eradicating millions of birds a year to meet Americans’ demand for feathery swank, surged in her like a ball of regurgitated feathers and crustaceans from a grebe’s crop. This would prove to be a turning-point in America’s relationship with nature.

Lobbying by Audubon groups helped produce a remarkable series of bird protections, including the Lacey Act of 1900 and, following a pro-bird pact with British Canada, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which made it illegal to harm most native birds not hunted for sport. This landmark environmental law—and model for later ones such as the Endangered Species Act—probably saved several decorative birds, such as the snowy egret and sandhill crane, from extinction.

Despite improvements in signalling electric lines, these kill even more: perhaps 25m a year. Climate change and habitat loss may be bigger threats; a recent study found America’s bird population had fallen by 30% over the past 50 years. The fact that the administration is nonetheless intent on gutting birds’ main legal protection shows how far it is from honouring its spirit—and the decades-old bipartisan consensus behind it.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

No.

Terrible for 99% of birds but I swear the California Condor looks like someone stapled a pair of testicles to a vulture. If it goes extinct, this policy wont have been the 'absolute worst'

I believe Mao tried the same thing.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in BUSİNESS

Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Vanessa Bryant Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Helicopter Company After Kobe & Gianna KilledKobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant were among the nine killed when a helicopter they were flying in crashed in Calabasas, California I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't blame her, they were negligent and look how many lives were affected 😢 This is...kind of gross.
Source: people - 🏆 712. / 51 Read more »