Animal Law Podcast #64: The Case of the Missing Migratory Birds

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I am once again lucky enough to be speaking with Eric Glitzenstein, this time about a recent resounding success for animals, specifically birds, in Natural Resources Defense Council v US Dept. of the Interior. This case involves a recent “opinion” issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which, since its issuance, has dramatically reinterpreted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to reduce protections for birds by requiring that the only covered acts are ones that are “directed” at birds. Yikes! As seems obvious, birds are most frequently put in danger in the modern world because they are in someone’s way, not just because someone sets out to kill them on purpose. Fortunately a conglomeration of advocacy groups got together and cried foul (or fowl!) (sorry). And, fortunately, the Southern District of New York agreed. And, to add to the good fortune, we have Eric, a true model of the consummate legal qualities of passion and clarity, here to tell us the story.

Eric Glitzenstein is the Director of Litigation of the Center for Biological Diversity, a national conservation and wildlife protection organization. Eric oversees and coordinates the Center’s litigation conducted by more than 50 in-house attorneys along with outside counsel. Prior to joining the Center, Eric was cofounder and managing partner of Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP, a public-interest law firm in Washington, D.C. Eric is also a Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School, where he will teach Wildlife Law in Spring 2021.

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