Late last week, the U.S. Department of the Interior quietly reissued a controversial legal opinion that severely weakens the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by eliminating penalties for the incidental killing of protected birds. This marks a major shift from decades of legal precedent, which held that the MBTA prohibits both intentional and unintentional (incidental) harm to birds resulting from industrial activities.
Enacted in 1918, the MBTA protects more than 1,100 species of birds and their eggs from “take,” including killing, capturing, selling, and transport, without a permit. Under the reinterpreted rule, only intentional killings will be penalized—effectively giving industries such as oil, gas, and electric utilities a free pass for the millions of bird deaths they cause each year through electrocutions, oil spills, collisions with buildings, and toxic waste ponds.
“The prohibition on incidental take is a critical aspect of the MBTA and has been enforced for decades to address birds’ deaths from routine industry operations, as well as major environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez oil spills,” said Johanna Hamburger, director and senior attorney of Animal Welfare Institute’s Terrestrial Wildlife Program. “This policy removes the incentive for companies to adopt commonsense strategies to reduce threats that their operations pose to birds, and it will likely once again cause the deaths of millions of additional birds in the coming years.”
This rollback couldn’t come at a worse time. A landmark 2019 study revealed that North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds since 1970, largely due to habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and other human-driven impacts. Birds are essential to ecosystem health, and scientists warn that failing to address threats now could lead to a widespread collapse of bird populations.
AWI will continue to fight this unlawful legal opinion. They urge you to join them in protecting birds—by improving habitat, preventing window strikes, and adopting bird-safe practices around your home.
