Looking for a place to rest, migratory birds found an oily deathbed insteadExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company, has pleaded guilty to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in five states during the past five years, according to a recent U.S. Department of Justice press release.
"Hawks, owls, and other birds were apparently looking for a place to rest when they made an unfortunate stop in the company's oily open pits, where they became coated with or swallowed fatal amounts of contaminants," writes Brendan Borrell in a recent article in Scientific American.
ExxonMobil will pay fines of $400,000 in fines to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund and $200,000 in community service payments to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and a non-profit bird rehabilitation foundation.
"We are all responsible for protecting our wildlife, even the largest of corporations," said Colorado U.S. Attorney David M. Gaouette. "An important part of this case is the implementation of an environmental compliance plan that will help prevent future migratory bird deaths."
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