Twitter Screenshot / Greg Alexander
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) holds an annual art competition, the winner of which will be featured on the federal duck stamp. Entries feature a live water bird in its natural habitat, but this year, thanks to the Trump administration, the paintings must now include images of hunters there to kill the birds — or the trash they leave behind.
Artists struggle to meet the new requirements to include “hunting-related accessories or elements” on the 7″ x 10″ canvasses. Some resort to miniature hunting parties in the background, bearing down on the beautiful subject of their work. Others resort to smaller and less conspicuous belligerents, like spent shotgun shells or lost bird calls.
Sales from the duck stamp help fund national programs to preserve wetlands. Not a postage stamp, the duck stamp is a permit required for those who want to hunt waterfowl, but the stamp is often collected by birders and nature enthusiasts. That may change now that the images include the subject’s imminent demise or floating garbage.
The duck stamp is a metaphor for all things Trump; an administration committed to maximizing environmental damage which mandates that the beauty of nature must be paired with the glorification of its destruction.
