To the Editor:
It is ironic that on Christmas Day you ran a front-page story detailing the Trump administration’s continued assaults on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and various other environmental protections having to do with birds and other forms of wildlife (“Trump Policy Ends Penalties in Bird Deaths”).
Over a century ago it used to be a tradition in some places to go out on Christmas Day and kill birds for “sport.” Frank M. Chapman, an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History, suggested an alternative, to count rather than kill birds, and the Christmas Bird Count was established.
Bird watching prospered throughout the 20th century, and the birds’ diversity and beauty stimulated the growth of conservation and environmental awareness.
The conservation successes of the past century apparently are too much for this administration, even as the total numbers of North American birds have declined by 29 percent in the past 50 years, a loss of about three billion birds. The nuanced wording of the policy revisions — that as long as one does not kill birds directly, it is just fine to kill them indirectly, with no legal or economic consequences — borders on the ridiculous.
To the people in power, birds may seem to be nonessential parts of nature, “indulgences” for those of us who admire, watch and study them. Try telling that to my grandchildren.
And that is what is so profoundly sad. When our grandchildren reach adulthood, the callous and irresponsible actions being taken today will have made their world far worse than what their grandparents enjoyed during their youth.
John Kricher
Hingham, Mass.
The writer, professor emeritus of biology at Wheaton College, is past president of the Wilson Ornithological Society and the Association of Field Ornithologists.
To the Editor:
This policy ending penalties for bird deaths comes from the same person who railed in a recent speech about windmills harming birds. The president has once again demonstrated that his hypocrisy and shame have no boundaries.
David N. Wynn
Livingston, N.J.
"bird" - Google News
December 30, 2019
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Trump’s New Policy on Bird Deaths: ‘Callous and Irresponsible’ - The New York Times
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