By Pete Davidson, Senior Conservation Advisor, Birds Canada
Birds Canada is delighted to convey great news for birds from south of the border in this update to a blog post we published earlier in the summer.
Our BirdLife International partners in the U.S. – the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy – and their partners – the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Defenders of Wildlife – brought a series of lawsuits that successfully led a U.S. federal court to overturn the reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This reinterpretation was a major rollback of protections to birds across the U.S., impacting many of the birds we enjoy in Canada.
Northern Mockingbird Photo: Yousif Attia
In her ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni cited novelist Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: “It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime. That has been the letter of the law for the past century. But if the Department of the Interior has its way, many Mockingbirds and other migratory birds that delight people and support ecosystems throughout the country will be killed without legal consequence.”
You can learn more in the news releases on Audubon and American Bird Conservancy’s news pages. Birds Canada extends our thanks to all of our supporters who supported our stance and spoke up on this issue, and to the Government of Canada for their strong, evidence-based analysis of the options.