Media Coverage - Hunting Debate Heats Up
Published October 26, 2006. By Christopher Behnan. Daily Press & Argus
Regina Ridley fears the mourning dove may face the same fate as the passenger pigeon in Michigan — extinction — if voters say "yes" on a referendum of a state law to establish a mourning dove hunting season in the Great Lakes State.
Advocates of dove hunting, on the other hand, say it is unlikely to cause even a dip in the overall dove population in Michigan, much less lead to extinction.
Voters across Michigan will have their say on the issue on Nov. 7, when they will vote on state Proposal 3 — a referendum on a 2004 law that temporarily ended Michigan's nearly 100-year ban on hunting the small, gray birds best known for their mournful coo.
Those interested in protecting the bird reacted with a petition drive, collecting more than 275,000 signatures, delaying the law going into effect and leading to this year's referendum.
If approved by voters, the measure will give the Michigan Natural Resources Commission the authority to establish a mourning dove hunting season.
Ridley, a Brighton resident, has long since opposed mourning dove hunting in Michigan. She used to hand out postcards to fellow golfers that read "I am against dove hunting" on the back, with hopes that the postcards would be mailed back.
"I just think that it isn't necessary. This is what happened to the passenger pigeons years ago," Ridley said. "They just dissipated."
Those in favor of adding mourning doves to Michigan's legal game hunting list argue the small bird is a challenge to hunt, and would provide a recreational activity for Michigan families as well as generate tourist revenue.
"It's a good family activity to get kids outside, to get them out of the house, get them away from the video games," Jeff Benefiel, an avid hunter from Cohoctah Township, said. "It does bring a lot of kids to the outdoors when they're young."
Those against a mourning dove season say the bird — which can arguably fit in one human hand — provides little meat, and is not overpopulated in Michigan. There are an estimated 4 million mourning doves in Michigan, and 400 million in North America. Hunting of the bird is legal in 40 other states.
In an attempt to prove its viewpoint, the Committee to Keep Doves Protected released an Internet cartoon titled "Dave the Dove" at www.DavetheDove.com.
"What we have is all that we have," Julie Baker, director of the committee, said of the mourning dove. "Just because there's lots of them doesn't mean we should shoot them, because there's lots of cardinals and lots of blue jays. It's Michigan's official bird of peace."
Baker said statistics indicate that Michigan's mourning dove population has remained stable during the past 40 years, while the bird's numbers have dropped significantly in states that allow mourning dove hunting.
Hunters kill an estimated 25 million doves a year in the United States. Biologists say that figure is insignificant in light of doves' natural mortality rate, which ranges from 30 percent to 40 percent annually.
Benefiel, also a certified wildlife biologist, said less than 20 percent of mourning doves see their first birthday. He said hunting the bird wouldn't adversely diminish the bird's population in Michigan because its breeding period would mostly be over by fall.
"There's really not that many that are breeding with the same (mate) next year because most of them don't make it," Benefiel said.
Hunting organizations say the debate is more about constitutional rights and protecting hunters' rights than anything, Beth Ruth, spokeswoman for the Citizens for Wildlife Conservation, said.
"It's not only about doves. It's ... animal-rights groups who are going to chip away at our heritage," Ruth said. "You start with the doves. What's the next thing they're going to do?"
Hartland Township resident Robert Fauls, a retiree and former avid hunter, said he supports Proposal 3 for the very same reason. Nowadays, Fauls mostly shoots range targets, but used to hunt all over the United States, Mexico and elsewhere.
He still buys hunting and fishing licenses, primarily to support those sports in Michigan.
"When we start losing our hunting rights, it's a right lost," said Fauls, who sits on the board of directors of the Livingston Conservation and Sports Association. "That goes for our Second Amendments rights, our voting rights — any of our rights."
Baker said her group is only concerned with the mourning dove issue. She said the state's economy already benefits from tourists who come to Michigan to observe mourning doves.
"We didn't pick this fight," she said.
While often time-consuming and unpredictable, both sides of the debate said they support the state legislative process in monitoring Michigan's legal game list.
The Lansing State Journal contributed to this report.
