BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 25, 2020
In January, the Trump Administration weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Companies would no longer be responsible for practices that only “incidentally” killed birds. A new bipartisan bill, The Migratory Bird Protection Act of 2020, would reintroduce the prohibition against incidental killing of birds. North America has lost 1 in 4 birds over the last 50 years. Maintaining and strengthening legal protections for migratory birds is called for in this current moment. Incidental killing of birds accounts for at least a quarter of bird deaths and represents the most avoidable source of mortality birds face. It is important to fight the Trump Administration’s attempts to roll back the legislative teeth of the act. ~ Max Driffill, Sebec