"New York’s state attorney general called the action a ‘giveaway to special interests’"
"Eight state attorneys general filed a legal challenge Wednesday to the Trump administration's bid to dramatically weaken the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a century-old law established to protect birds.
The lawsuit, led by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, and supported by Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, California and New Mexico, is an effort to stop the Interior Department from fully implementing a directive to its law enforcement division to forgive mass bird kills, even when the animals are threatened or endangered.
In accordance with a new interpretation of the act issued in April, the department informed its wildlife police that the slaughter "of birds resulting from an activity is not prohibited ... when the underlying purpose of that activity is not to take birds.” For example, the guidance said, a person who destroys a structure such as a barn knowing that it is full of baby owls in nests is not liable for killing them. “All that is relevant is that the landowner undertook an action that did not have the killing of barn owls as its purpose,” the opinion said."
Darryl Fears reports for the Washington Post September 5, 2018.
SEE ALSO:
"Egged On By Industry Lobbyists, Interior Dept. Weakens Bird Protections" (Reveal)
