AR-News: (US) Federal Bill Would Allow Indiscriminate Killing of 94 Migratory Bird Species

[Tracey McIntire]

For Immediate Release

Federal Bill Would Allow Indiscriminate Killing of 94 Migratory Bird Species

Animal Welfare Institute, The Humane Society of the U.S. and The Fund 
for Animals Ask Members of Congress to Vote No on H.R. 4114

WASHINGTON (May 6, 2004)Three of the nations oldest and largest animal 
protection organizations today called on the House of Representatives to 
reject H.R. 4114, a bill that would weaken the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 
(MBTA) and remove federal protection for at least 94 species of 
non-native birds, including certain species of storks, pelicans, 
cranes, swans, cardinals, and orioles. The bill, introduced by 
Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), passed the House Resources Committee 
yesterday and is being rushed through Congress.

The Humane Society of the United States, Animal Welfare Institute, and 
The Fund for Animals point out that the U.S. has entered into four 
International Conventions for the Protection of Migratory Birds since 
1916, and H.R. 4114 would violate the longstanding terms of those 
Conventions. There is no distinction between native and non-native 
anywhere in the four treaties, which were intended to protect birds who 
move between countries, not just native birds. Furthermore, the 
legislation arbitrarily chooses 1918 as the cutoff for which birds must 
have been present in the U.S. to be considered native, yet three of the 
four treaties were signed after 1918.

H.R.4114 undermines the very purpose of the migratory bird treatiesto 
protect birds across the range of their migratory routes, said Michael 
Markarian, President of The Fund for Animals. This bill tries to amend 
the terms of the Conventions by redefining what birds are covered. H.R. 
4114 is the equivalent of Congress trying to pass a law unilaterally 
redefining what commercial transactions are covered by NAFTA.

In 2001, the D.C. District Court in the case Hill v. Norton carefully 
reviewed the question of whether or not there was any justification for 
excluding non-native birds such as Mute Swans from the MBTAs 
protections, and ruled in favor of their inclusionbecause the treaties 
specify all swans, not just native swans. The Bush administration 
has not appealed this case, the proper channel for further review of 
this question. Now, Congress is attempting to overturn this court 
decision legislatively, a dangerous precedent indeed.

H.R. 4114 could have far-reaching consequences for dozens of bird 
species in the U.S. and abroad, said Wayne Pacelle, Chief Executive 
Officer-Designate of The Humane Society of the U.S. The MBTA already 
includes provisions for dealing with birds who cause specific damage in 
specific locationsCongress should not write a blank check to kill 
dozens of species at any time and any place, regardless of whether they 
are causing any actual problems.

Some of the species currently covered by the MBTA that would lose such 
protection if H.R. 4114 is enacted are protected under other 
international agreements such as the Convention on International Trade 
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). For example, the 
Nicobar Pigeon and Yellow-Billed Cardinal are protected under CITES, and 
the Swan Goose, Blue-Headed Quail-Dove, Guam Swiftlet, and Yellow 
Cardinal are all listed as endangered under the IUCN-World 
Conservation Union.

Species such as the Nicobar Pigeon and the Luzon Bleeding-Heart need 
global cooperation to survive, said Adam Roberts, Executive Director of 
the Animal Welfare Institute. If H.R. 4114 is approved, bird species 
that are protected in other range states under domestic law could be 
killed when traveling through the U.S., undermining diligent efforts 
abroad to protect these same species at other times of the year. H.R. 
4114 is anti-conservation and could place imperiled species at risk.