Are you familiar with the infamous plume trade that supplied the millinery industry just over 100 years ago? This sign at the entrance to theCorkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, near Naples, Florida, provides a glimpse into the history behind this practice . . . and, this incredible place.
I cringe to think about it, but literally millions of beautiful wetland birds, like those pictured here, were slaughtered (many, nearly to extinction) in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s – just so their stunning plumage could adorn the hats of fashionable, wealthy women.
Read more in this 2018Audubon articleand on Wikipedia, Plume hunting.
Thankfully, the advocacy efforts of a group of women eventually led to an end to the plume trade in the U.S., to the establishment of the Audubon Society, and eventually to the historic Migratory Bird Treaty Actover a century ago (Smithsonian Magazine).
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