Dear Editor:

There is no reason to break Michigans tradition of protecting mourning doves from hunting established in 1905, and I urge your readers to vote NO on the Dove Hunt Referendum 3 to appear on the November 7th ballot. Although dove hunt proponents claim you can get significant meat from a mourning doves carcass, the Ornithology Department at Cornell University reports there is only 1 to 2 ounces of edible meat on an adult dove. Much of this meat would be ruined by toxic lead shot peppered into the target. A recipe for dove with mushrooms which appeared on the Michigan Dove Hunters site calls for a whopping 16 dove breasts (proposed bag limit 15 birds). The site cautioned to inspect carefully for shot before preparing the kill.

Many dove hunters take exception with calling the mourning dove a symbol of peace. But in 1998, the Michigan Legislature designated the mourning dove as the Michigan Bird of Peace.

Dove hunters claim concerns are exaggerated they would mistakenly shoot other birds which look like mourning doves. But people have been mistaken for deer and shot, and Detroit Audubon Society President James Bull reports: President George W. Bush, while dove hunting with an experienced guide, shot an American kestrel and was fined for the error.

Dove hunters disagree with claims mourning dove hunting is cruel. According to Haas (1977)-a study referenced by biologists and referred to in Ecology and Management of the Mourning Dove--hunters failed to retrieve up to half the mourning doves they shot, and many of these small, evasive targets suffered significantly before dying slowly.

Dove hunters claim to have professional wildlife management on their side. But according to a 2003 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, mourning dove populations have held steady in states where hunting is banned. Professionals have thus determined we dont need a hunting season to control the population of mourning doves. 

Referendum 3 to appear on this Novembers ballot will ask voters only whether they want to authorize the Michigan Natural Resources Commission to break a 100-year tradition and establish a hunting season for mourning doves, not take away existing hunting rights. Pro-dove hunt extremists offer nothing but anecdotal evidence and the same tiresome, hysterical appeal to the emotion of voters to scare them into believing Referendum 3 is an attempt to take away all hunting rights. Please vote NO on the dove hunting referendum.

Sincerely yours,

Sam Gibby
146 Midway Dr
Negaunee, MI 49866
(906)475-9882
sqqgibby@aol.com

