Figurative language is not just for novels and poems, it enhances articles as well.

Here is an example from an article about the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

"The mocking laughter gave way to useless fuming when the ladies succeeded in slapping a ban on the slaughter of egrets."

The author really has a way of saying things.

On a LITERAL level, what is being said here?
What Literary devices do you see here?