ACTION ALERT

The infamous anti-wildlife legislator, Congressman Don Young (R-AK), has introduced H.R. 2863, the Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act. This bill would seriously relax the provisions in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that prohibit the hunting of migratory birds over bait. Currently, a hunter is breaking the law if he or she shoots a migratory bird over an area that is baited with corn, millet, or other food that attracts the birds.

Under the Young bill, the strict liability provision is removed, and the arresting wildlife officer would have to prove that the hunter had prior knowledge of the area being baited. This means that hunters can simply claim that they were unaware of any bait in the vicinity of their hunting activities. We do not allow ignorance of the law to justify the perpetration of other crimes, and we certainly should not allow it for slob hunters who lure birds to piles of food and shoot them at point-blank range. There may be more challenge in shooting caged birds at pet stores.

Call or write to your U.S. Representative and your two U.S. Senators and tell them to OPPOSE H.R. 2863, which would make it easier for hunters to gain an unfair advantage over migratory birds.

Please write to your Representative at:

The Honorable ____________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-3121

If you do not know who your Representative and Senators are, or if you would like to find their e-mail addresses, you can contact Capitol Advantage.

You may wish to make the following points when you write or call:

• Re-writing the baiting provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act would erase decades of case law that have aided in the prosecution of hunters who shoot birds over bait.

• Liberalizing the anti-baiting regulations would place further burdens on U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers, when there are already too few of them in the field enforcing the law.

• Most hunters claim to have an ethic of sportsmanship and fair chase, and find repugnant the practice of luring birds with food and shooting them at point-blank range.

For further information please contact Christine Wolf at The Fund for Animals by calling 301-585-2591 or sending e-mail to cwolf@fund.org. Thank you for your help!

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