Dear Representative,

On behalf of the undersigned animal protection, environmental, and conservation organizations and our combined membership of well over 10 million citizens, we urge you to vote NO on H.R. 4114. This dangerous legislation would amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to remove federal protections for 94 bird species—including certain species of pelicans, swans, storks, cardinals, orioles, and cranes—which have been in place for decades. Please oppose this unscientific, anti-conservation bill for the following reasons:

H.R. 4114 Violates International Treaties. The U.S. has entered into four International Conventions for the Protection of Migratory Birds since 1916. The Conventions require each nation to pass legislation implementing their provisions. There is no distinction between “native” and “non-native” anywhere in the four Conventions. In fact, the Conventions were intended to protect birds who move between countries, not just native birds. H.R. 4114 undermines the very purpose of the migratory bird treaties—to protect birds across the range of their migratory routes. The migratory birds covered by the MBTA are defined in the body of, and annexes to, the four Conventions. This bill tries to amend the terms of the Conventions by redefining what birds are covered. H.R. 4114 is the equivalent of Congress trying to pass a law unilaterally re-defining what commercial transactions are covered by NAFTA.

H.R. 4114 Overturns a 2001 D.C. Circuit Court Case. H.R. 4114 is an effort to bypass the judiciary branch’s interpretation of the Conventions. In Hill v. Norton, 275 F.3d 98 (D.C. Cir. 2001) the Court specifically interpreted the Migratory Bird Treaties to include these species as protected. There has been no appeal of this case, the proper channel for further review of this question, but rather a bill has been introduced to arbitrarily exclude 94 species of birds because they are not indigenous to the U.S. The intent of the MBTA, and the Conventions it implements, is specifically to protect birds who migrate regardless of their native status.

H.R. 4114 Makes Federal Law Ambiguous. Who decides whether a species’ presence is “entirely the result of natural biological or ecological conditions”? If habitat changes from land clearing and development have made a species migrate over the border, are they excluded? The bill would eliminate a clear, closed list of species that has worked for decades, and replace it with a vague, ill-defined standard of “native” that will only increase litigation over bird protection as courts are forced to sort out complicated historical arguments about which bird species were here first, which species deserve to live, and which species should be systematically exterminated.

H.R. 4114 Creates an Arbitrary Definition of “Migratory Bird” which Defies Common Sense. Defining migratory birds as only those native to the U.S. as of 1918 is inconsistent with the Conventions. There is no science-based explanation for identifying the 1918 cutoff point for native status. Many of the treaties were entered into long after 1918. For example, the U.S.S.R. Convention was ratified in 1976. Limiting covered birds to those species present in 1918 excludes birds explicitly covered by three of the four treaties. The net effect would be to nullify three of the four Conventions negotiated by the executive and ratified by Congress. Moreover, proponents of the bill point to problems allegedly caused by mute swans, yet there is evidence of mute swans existing in the U.S. since colonial times, so they would not necessarily even be removed from MBTA coverage under this bill.

H.R. 4114 is a Solution in Search of a Problem. The MBTA and the Conventions already include provisions for dealing with birds who harm agriculture or the environment. Depredation orders are already available for bird species that cause specific damage in specific locations. Congress should not write a blank check to kill dozens of species at any time and any place, regardless of whether they are causing any actual problems.

H.R. 4114 Uses Birds as Scapegoats for Environmental Problems. Proponents of the bill point to the example of mute swans allegedly damaging the environment of the Chesapeake Bay, yet the D.C. Circuit Court concluded there was no evidence of such damage in Fund for Animals v. Norton, 281 F. Supp. 2d 209 (D.D.C. 2003). Leading scientists and organizations, such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, point to the waste runoff from industrial poultry farms as the number one cause of the bay’s environmental damage, and nutrients from sewage treatment plants as the number two cause. Mute swans probably would not make a list of the top fifty.

H.R. 4114 Puts Imperiled Species at Risk. Some of the species currently covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that would lose such protection if H.R. 4114 is enacted are considered imperiled under other international agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Species such as the Nicobar pigeon and the Luzon Bleeding-Heart need global cooperation to survive.

H.R. 4114 Is Indiscriminate and Could Undermine National Legislation Abroad. Bird species that are protected in other range states under their domestic laws could be killed when traveling through the U.S., undermining diligent efforts abroad to protect these same species at other times of the year. H.R. 4114 is anti-conservation.

H.R. 4114 Is Not Based on Sound Science. The legislation blithely strips protection from countless species without the benefit of any scientific assessment of the impact of removing such species—many of which could have been in the U.S. for decades—from the ecosystem in which they thrive. Further, no comprehensive, peer-reviewed study has been undertaken to conclude that any or all of the species that would be impacted by H.R. 4114 pose a threat to other species or the ecosystem in which they live.

For all of these reasons, please vote NO on H.R. 4114. Thank you.

Society for Animal Protective Legislation
Cathy Liss
Legislative Director
Washington, DC

The Fund for Animals
Michael Markarian
President
Silver Spring, MD

 

The Humane Society of the United States
Wayne Pacelle
Chief Executive Officer-Designate
Washington, DC

 

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

Lisa B. Weisberg

Senior Vice President

New York, NY

 

Maryland Alliance for Greenway Improvement and Conservation

Bob DeGroot

President

Rockville, MD

 

Save Maryland Swans

Patrick Hornberger

President

Trappe, MD

 

American Humane Association

Suzanne Barnard

Vice President of Public Policy

Washington, DC

 

Bradford Environmental Research

Jonathan B Ratner

Director

Pinedale, WY

 

Cape Wildlife Center

Catherine M. Brown

Acting Director

West Barnstable, MA

 

Eastern Caribbean Coalition for Environmental Awareness

Lesley Ann Sutty

Head of Opertions, ECCEA-EU Regional Programme; CEO, ECCEA

Martinique

 

Forest Guardians

Nicole J. Rosmarino, Ph.D.

Endangered Species Director

Santa Fe, NM

 

National Environmental Trust

Gerald Leape

Vice President

Washington, DC

 

Earthvoice

Jan Hartke

Executive Director

Washington, DC

 

Doris Day Animal League

Sara Amundson

Deputy Director

Washington, DC
 

Animal Protection Institute

Michelle Thew

Chief Executive Officer

Sacramento, CA

 

Farm Sanctuary

Gene Bauston

President

Watkins Glen, NY

 

Earth Restoration Corps

Vance Hartke

Executive Director

Washington, DC

 

Earth Council Foundation, U.S.

Flynn Bucy

Director

Washington, DC

 

Bluewater Network

Russell Long

Executive Director

San Francisco, CA

 

The Pesticide Awareness and Alternative Coalition of Santa Barbara

Richard Schloss

Secretary/Treasurer

Santa Barbara, CA

 

Wildlife Legacy Trust

Sharon Greenleaf La Pierre, Ph.D.

Founding Chair

Boulder, CO

 

Counterpart International

Lelei LeLaulu

President and CEO

Washington, DC

 

InterAmerican Council

Randy Belcher-Torres

Director

Washington, DC

 

Pro-Natura USA

John Lewis

President

Washington, DC

 

Center for Respect of Life and Environment

Rick Clugston

Executive Director

Washington, DC

 

Humane Society International

Neil Trent

Executive Director

Gaithersburg, MD

 

Canadians for Snow Geese

Ainslie Willock

Director

Toronto, Canada

 

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA)

Dr. Arthur Lindley

Director of Science

West Sussex, United Kingdom

 

Born Free Foundation

Will Travers

President

West Sussex, England

 

Monitor Caribbean

Milton Kaufmann

President

Montgomery Village, MD

 

Born Free USA

Adam Roberts

Vice President

Washington, DC

 

Animal Alliance of Canada

Liz White

Director

Toronto, Canada

 

Zoocheck-Canada

Rob Laidlaw

Director

Toronto, Canada

 

Animals Asia Foundation

Jill Robinson

Founder & CEO

Hong Kong

 

Centre for Marine Mammals Research LEVIATHAN

G. Paolo Sanino

Science Dep. Director

Chile

 

Wildlife Advocacy Project

Eric Glitzenstein

President

Washington, DC

 

Wildlife Land Trust

Steve Swartz

General Counsel and Acting Executive Director

Washington, DC

 

Interfaith Council for the Protection of Animals and Nature, Inc. (ICPAN)

Lewis Regenstein

President

Atlanta, GA

 

The Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition

Helen Rayshick

Co-Founder

Barre, MA

 

International Primate Protection League

Dr. Shirley McGreal

Chairwoman

Summerville, SC

 

The Swan Society, Inc

Kay Garcia

President

Shelton, CT

 

MBTA Advocates

Kathryn Burton

President

East Lyme, CT

 

United Animal Nations

Jennifer Fearing

Director of Programs & Communications

Sacramento, CA

 

The Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association

Laura Simon

President

New Haven, CT

 

Animal Advocacy Connecticut (AACT)

Julie E. Lewin

President

Guilford, CT

 

Animal Advocates of Western New York

Randy Atlas

Acting President

Amherst, NY

 

New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance

Angi Metler

Director

Englishtown, NJ

 

Animal Rights Foundation of Florida

Nanci Alexander

President

Pompano Beach, FL

 

Animal Welfare Advocacy

Brad Goldberg

President

Mamaroneck, NY

 

Pennsylvania Legislative Animal Network (PLAN)

Johnna Seeton

Chairperson

Harrisburg, PA

 

Animal Rights Hawaii

Cathy Goeggel

President

Honolulu, HI

 

Channel Islands Animal Protection Association

Scarlet Newton

Spokesperson

Santa Barbara, CA

 

Political Voice for Animals

Tamara Lackey

President

Denver, CO

 

The SORT Organization

Raymond Povalski

Director

Clinton, NJ

 

Center for Animal Protection

Susan Russell

Policy Director

Rumson, NJ

 

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Kara Holmquist

Director of Advocacy

Boston, MA

 

Rocky Mountain Animal Defense

David Crawford

Executive Director

Boulder, CO

 

Humane Society of New York

Elinor Molbegott

Legal Counsel

New York, NY

 

Please contact your Representative and urge her/him to cosponsor this important legislation.  To find your member click here.

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