Migratory Birds Should Be Protected From Accidental Killings by American Companies

A bald eagle flying over Mill Pond in Centerport, New York.

A New York federal judge recently overruled a decision by the Trump administration to scale down government protection for migratory birds. The decision would have permitted companies that accidentally kill migrating birds during the course of their work no longer to face the prospect of criminal prosecution. In a 31-page document, U.S District Judge Valerie Caproni quoted the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to uphold her decision. Just before leaving office, the Obama administration released a legal opinion saying that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act does include the accidental killing of birds. In 2017, the Trump administration ruled out that opinion pending review. Later, it issued a legal memo saying it would not criminally prosecute such killings. Judge Caproni was positive in her ruling, disallowing the administration's interpretation of of "takings" and "killings" of birds as relevant only if the animals are targeted specifically. In 2018, the National Audubon Society and other conservation groups, along with eight states, sued the Trump administration's legal opinion, which the court joined into one. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service stated that tens of millions of birds are killed every year by anthropogenic threats, involving flying into communication towers and wind turbines, as well as oil spills. Environmental groups argued that if the Trump administration's legal opinion had been in place ten years ago when the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred, BP would have not been prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the one million birds killed.

President Donald Trump

I'm very proud that U.S District Judge Valerie Caproni overruled the Trump administration's decision regarding the plight of migratory birds. I don't believe it is fair that work progress should continue when birds are accidentally killed by wind turbines and other machinery belonging to major companies. One the long run, this would decimate the migratory bird populations in the U.S. I strongly believe that major industrial companies across the U.S should keep a lookout for such incidences and report them. Protection of birds does not mean that they should be only safeguarded from illegal poaching, habitat destruction, and other deliberate actions by people. Accidental killings of birds should also be taken into consideration. I think in order to prevent further accidental killings of migratory birds, it is crucial to identify their migration routes. If their migration routes happen to be in vicinity of a future site of some power plant or similar building structure belonging to some major company, that company should be warned about the possibility of accidental killings of birds and should be encouraged to find a different location where there is proof of presence of birds and other wildlife. This would help curtail any further decimation in migratory bird populations.

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