Art Versus Law and the Migratory Bird Act

“‘If a kid picks up a fallen nest and looks at it in awe, are you going to deprive him that experience?’ said James Prosek, a celebrated trout fisherman, wildlife artist and author in Easton who has been called the Audubon of fishing.” Prosek chimed in on a controversy created when artist Randall Nelson used dyed bird carcasses to highlight the need to preserve wildlife habitat. Apparently U.S. Fish and Wildlife intends to make no exceptions in the enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which bans any use of protected birds or their parts or nests. Stephanie Summers writes an interesting story about a community’s censorship where art and the law commingle in the Hartford, Connecticut Courant. It’ll make you think twice about scraping that out-of-season pheasant off of the pavement.