The Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium could kill thousands of birds each year.
Despite state guidelines requiring bond-funded buildings to protect birds from window collisions, the Vikings and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority rejected calls last week from Audubon and other groups urging them use safer types of glass.
For less than 0.1{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} of the entire billion-dollar cost of the facility, the Vikings could incorporate bird-safe glass, which could help prevent birds from fatally colliding with the stadium’s huge glass windows.
And, we know that it will work. The Javits Center, once New York City’s biggest bird killing structure, updated its glass to a bird-safe variety and reduced bird collisions to almost zero.
According to scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Smithsonian Institution, up to 988 million birds are killed annually in the United States by collisions with buildings, especially glass windows. The new Vikings stadium will feature nearly 200,000 square feet of glass.
If we have a solution that we know will prevent bird deaths, why not act on it?
You can make a difference and help save birds! Sign our petition and urge the Vikings to use bird-safe glass!
Guest post by Elizabeth Sorrell, the Digital Communications Manager for National Audubon Society and a proud vegan!