Someone asked for a copy of the letter, so here’s the text, for those who
may be interested:
January 9, 2024
Dear Members of the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee,
On behalf of the Kentucky Ornithological Society, a respected one
hundred-year-old bird conservation organization with hundreds of members,
we urge you to oppose SB59, which targets Cooper’s hawks and Red-tailed
hawks, and would prohibit state enforcement of the Kentucky law that
currently offers state protection for both species.
These species, and all other raptors, are protected under a federal law,
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, enforced by the US Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS). Removing the state’s ability to enforce the killing of these
species would shift enforcement to the federal level, which would expose
violators to the federal penalties of as much as $250,000 in fines and up
to two years imprisonment for each violation.
Both these species of raptors have been known to occasionally take poultry,
but they are fierce predators of nuisance species, including rodents such
as mice and voles, as well as the invasive European starling. Their
benefits to the balance of nature and controlling undesirable species far
exceed any purported loss to poultry farmers.
There are existing options available to farmers who are experiencing
recurring losses. They can apply for a depredation permit which would allow
the taking of the problem bird, or they can build safer enclosures to keep
hawks and other predators from taking the poultry. Raptors are notoriously
difficult to identify to species, and removing the state enforcement of
protection for these two species will create an open season on all raptors.
Our organization, and others like it, represent thousands of bird
enthusiasts in Kentucky. Please be assured that this legislation will be
strongly opposed and contested by a large share of your constituents. The
basis of this legislation is poorly informed, and there seems much to be
lost and little to be gained.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter of opposition and to
consider your stance on this bill.
Sincerely,
Kentucky Ornithological Society Board of Directors
On Tue, Jan 9, 2024 at 5:55 PM Jeremy Teague <archilochus79@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
The KOS board of directors has submitted a formal letter of opposition to
the members of the Natural Resources and Energy committee regarding this
bill, citing many of the points that have been discussed here and elsewhere.
Please consider contacting the committee members to reinforce the
opposition, if you are inclined to do so.
Thanks to Donna for writing this up and sending it to the senators, and
thanks to Andrew and Meg for drafting/sharing the original language for BBC
that we used as a starting point (good that we had some consistency between
points raised from BBC and KOS).
Jeremy Teague
KOS President
Calvert City, KY
