"The Interior Department plans to cement into regulation its 2017 opinion that the accidental killing of migratory birds isn’t a criminal act—a reversal of prior federal policy that prosecuted unintentional bird killings as a misdemeanor, Interior officials said Thursday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is beginning a rulemaking that would punish only those who intentionally kill migratory birds, the service said Thursday.

Interior Solicitor Daniel Jorjani issued an opinion in 2017 that rejected the federal government’s century-long interpretation of the 1916 Migratory Bird Treaty Act as criminalizing companies that accidentally kill birds during industrial activities, such as wind turbines and oil and gas development."

Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Environment January 30, 2020. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"A Controversial Trump Legal Opinion Weakened A Law To Protect Birds. Now They Want To Make It Permanent." (Washington Post) [3]

"Trump Administration Moves to Relax Rules Against Killing Birds" (New York Times) [4]