FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, July 9, 1997
CONTACT:
Mike Markarian, (301) 585-2591, MikeM@fund.org
Heidi Prescott, (301) 585-2591, Heidi@fund.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, The Fund for Animals sent a five-page letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, objecting to an impending proposal to relax the provision of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that prohibits hunting over bait. It is illegal for hunters to shoot migratory birds such as doves or ducks over piles of grain or seed, but that provision may soon be changed.
A Fish and Wildlife Service memo leaked to The Fund for Animals indicates that the agency will soon propose that hunters charged with shooting ducks or doves over bait must "know or should have known" that the area was baited. The memo indicates that "politically there [are] certain givens. There will be a Scienter [knows or should have known] standard applied to baiting."
Heidi Prescott, national director of The Fund for Animals, wrote in today's letter, "Requiring proof that an individual knew or should have known that an area was baited would force federal agents to become mindreaders. Such a burden of proof would significantly hamper enforcement of any prohibition on baiting, and thus would undermine the Migratory Bird Treaty Act itself and the goals of the international treaties aimed at protecting migratory birds."
Prescott added, "Luring birds to point-blank range with food is a particularly objectionable form of hunting. This repugnant, unsporting, and biologically reckless practice will sharply increase if the Fish and Wildlife Service eliminates the strict liability standard, as hunters will know that law enforcement officials will have an almost impossible task."
If you would like to read a copy of the letter, click here.
For further information on this topic, we recommend reading "The Baiting Game," by Ted Williams, featured in the May/June 1997 issue of Audubon magazine.
