The desire to protect birds in America and Canada from being turned into hats is what induced the creation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which was a

The desire to protect birds in America and Canada from being turned into hats is what induced the creation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which was a sufficiently bold law to be (unsuccessfully) challenged in the supreme court. So yes, this is an issue that's been generally understood for a century at least.