Migratory Bird Treaty Act Penalty and Enforcement Act of 2009

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 91 years ago, in an effort to protect certain avian species, Congress enacted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. That law established criminal penalties for certain illegal activities, such as hunting over a baited field, using a live decoy to hunt waterfowl, or simply killing a protected migratory bird. In most instances, the punishment for these offenses is limited to 6 months in jail, a $15,000 fine, or both.

What H.R. 2062 is designed to address are inhumane and shocking violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. For example, during the past 3 years, a number of protected hawks and peregrine falcons have been killed by pigeon hobbyists in retaliation for these raptors eating their prized pets. While those involved in this illegal activity were tried and convicted under Federal law, not a single defendant received jail time, and none of the fines approached the maximum level. This is despite the fact that these pigeon hobbyists shot, poisoned, gassed, strangled, and clubbed thousands of protected birds and then bragged about it on the Internet.

In an effort to respond to future cases which would shock a reasonable

person, H.R. 2062 establishes a new two-tiered penalty system under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. For the first offense under this new standard, a defendant could receive up to 1 year in jail, a $100,000 fine, or both. For subsequent convictions of the same type, the penalties could increase to 2 years in jail, fines of up to $250,000, or both. These would be available, but not mandatory, penalties that a United States Attorney could seek in future migratory bird prosecutions.

Let me emphasize that this will not be the new legal standard for all violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. We are not talking about protected birds that are killed by a cell tower. We are not talking about hunters who kill too many ducks or geese. We are not talking about someone who steals goose eggs from a golf course. We are not talking about your grandmother who may shoot a protected woodpecker because its constant tapping on her house is annoying her. There is also absolutely no intention that these new penalties would affect in any manner the authorized hunting of migratory birds or the taking of migratory birds under a depredation order established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These enhanced penalties in H.R. 2062 will send a clear message to individuals throughout this Nation that egregious behavior, like the roller pigeon cases, will not be tolerated in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2062) to amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to provide for penalties and enforcement for intentionally taking protected avian species, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2062 would amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to establish new penalties and fines for instances when migratory birds are deliberately killed or wounded in an aggravated manner.

In 2007, a 14-month, multi-State undercover investigation initiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revealed that thousands of protected species of hawks and falcons had been killed illegally. Worse, despite the fact that those who had done the killing had used horrific methods, including trapping, poisoning, suffocating, clubbing, and baiting birds with pigeons rigged with fishing hooks, many of the defendants who pleaded guilty to the only applicable charge under the MBTA, a class B misdemeanor, escaped with minor fines or were merely granted probation.

These events confirm that the Congress should amend the MBTA to authorize new felony penalties to deter future offenses and to allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to recommend charges appropriate for the brutal nature of these actions when they do occur.

I commend our colleague from Oregon, Representative Peter DeFazio, for his leadership in developing this narrowly tailored legislation that does not diminish in any way the MBTA's existing ``strict liability'' standard.

So, Mr. Speaker, I urge Members on both sides to support the passage of this important bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I again urge Members to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, just over 2 years ago, Fish and Wildlife Service arrested a dozen individuals for repeatedly and deliberately killing protected raptors under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In many cases, the individuals used cruel and shocking methods of torture, mutilation, poisoning, suffocation, and clubbing to kill and wound these birds. They then bragged about their egregious behavior on the internet and to members of their organizations.

Despite the horrific nature of the crimes, the defendants who pleaded guilty to the Class B Misdemeanor--the same penalty ascribed to unauthorized uses of the Woodsy Owl and Smokey Bear characters--escaped with fines far smaller than the maximum allowances and were granted probation or given community service.

I and thousands of Oregonians were outraged by the nature of these wanton and senseless crimes. Yet, the individuals responsible only received a stiff slap on the wrist, demonstrating that courts often do not take wildlife crimes seriously enough. Regrettably, horrific violence against protected migratory birds continues across the country.

I introduced H.R. 2062 to provide Fish and Wildlife Service with a law enforcement tool that would allow the agency to prosecute the most egregious violations of the MBTA with serious penalties. This bill would also send a clear message to courts that Congress does take wildlife crimes seriously and expects courts to apply penalties that measure up to the shocking nature of some of these crimes.

The bill before the House today is the consensus product of over 6 months of discussion with conservation groups, hunting associations, Fish and Wildlife Service, the States, and the Republican minority. The bill was passed unanimously by the House Committee on Natural Resources on November 18th. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.