Doves in the crosshairs

Sept. 20, 2006

To some, the idea of hunting mourning doves makes good sense. The birds are easy targets -- practically sitting ducks. Shooting doves is thought to be a good way to introduce teenagers to the sport of hunting, or to spend a day in the woods, coming home with a sense of satisfaction and a slew of easy kills.
But for many Michiganians, including birdwatchers and many hunters, the idea of shooting a songbird and the worldwide symbol of peace doesn’t seem all that sporting.
Those two forces will come to loggerheads this November 7 in a referendum vote on dove hunting in Michigan.

RUDELY INFORMED
“The majority of hunters in Michigan are opposed to hunting doves,” says Julie Baker who heads-up the Lansing-based Committee to Restore the Dove Hunting Ban. “When we travel around the state speaking out against dove hunting, a lot of sportsmen join us.”
Baker demonstrates the power of the concerned citizen to shake things up. When she heard in 2004 that her State Representative Susan Tabor, R-Delta Township, was authoring a bill to overturn Michigan’s 100-year ban on dove hunting, she called Tabor to express the opinion that most citizens would oppose the hunt.
“I called up my representative Susan Tabor and was rudely and promptly told that it didn’t matter what people wanted because it was what Susan Tabor wanted,” she recalls. “Then my parents and neighbors called her and got the same response. So I launched the Songbird Protection Coalition. I thought I could do something -- this is America and we’re not supposed to be treated like this.”
Nonetheless, House Bill 6272 squeaked through the State Legislature in 2004, legalizing dove hunting.
“It passed by a narrow majority of legislators and the governor signed the bill,” Baker says. “Governor Granholm broke her campaign promise to veto dove shooting.”

FIGHTING BACK
Approximately 3,000 hunters got mourning dove licenses the first year of the hunt. According to an article in The Oakland Press, they killed 28,139 mourning doves in 2004, less than one percent of the eight million or so doves killed east of the Mississippi each year.
While the hunt was underway, Baker and a statewide network of volunteers began collecting signatures to get the issue on the ballot. They collected some 275,000 signatures from registered voters, far in excess of the 159,000 needed to get the referendum vote on the ballot this November. “The season was suspended once our signatures were counted,” she notes.
Baker compares the symbolism of shooting doves to burning the U.S. flag. “Whether you are burning an American flag or shooting Michigan’s official bird of peace, it’s against the very fabric of our culture,” she said in a 2005 interview.
In fact, the mourning dove is credited by birdwatchers as being the second most popular bird for sightings at birdfeeders. It was named Michigan’s official “Bird of Peace” in 1998.
State tradition also upholds the protection of doves. Michigan banned dove hunting in 1905, possibly in recognition of the extinction of the passenger pigeon and the devastating impact of over-hunting on many native species.

MYTH & REALITY
What about the claim of some hunt supporters that mourning doves have a lifespan of only one year and will die anyway?
That’s not true, Baker says. Mourning doves live from 7-11 years and there is one bird on record of having lived for 31 years and four months. “They don’t even breed until they’re a year-and-a-half old.”
She points to the decline of mourning doves in Ohio, Illinois and other states that offer hunting.
“In states that shoot mourning doves there are a disproportionate number of young birds that are killed. Most are baby birds that are virtually tame and not afraid of people.”
According to information from the U.S. Geological Survey, Michigan has maintained a stable population of mourning doves, while their numbers have declined in neighboring states. This despite the fact that Michigan has harsher winters and many of the birds stay through the season.

TAKING ACTION
Members of the Committee to Restore the Dove Hunting Ban say supporters should vote “No” on continuing the hunt in the upcoming referendum. They’re working with groups such as the Michigan Audubon Society and Wild Birds Unlimited to spread the message at the grassroots level.
“It’s really important to get the message out, so we’ll be knocking on doors, while our opponents will spend more than $3 million to support dove hunting,” says Jennifer Hillman of the U.S. Humane Society. “Most of the money will come from the national political action committees of out-of-state extreme hunting groups.”
It’s not just gun-nut groups from out yonder supporting dove hunting, however. It’s also true that the powerful Michigan United Conservation Clubs with nearly 100,000 members supports dove hunting. Supporters are also making the claim that dove hunting generates tourism dollars for the state that are being siphoned off to Ohio and Illilnois (albeit a claim that birdwatchers scoff at).
Will the birds go back in the crosshairs? The feathers fly one way or another at the election this November 7.

For more info on the movement to ban dove hunting, see www.stopshootingdoves.org.