News

Michigan Leaders Should
Protect the Mourning Dove

Published January 21, 2004. By Dr. James Bull, Opinion Editorial. The News-Herald

Michigan leaders should protect the mourning dove

Dove hunting is very inexpensive and does not affect tourism or the economy and certainly not to the tune of $100 million. That figure is simply preposterous.

Even the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, which is the leading proponent of dove hunting, acknowledges that because of "the inexpensive nature of the sport, since the birds are found almost everywhere in these states, hunters needn't travel far."

In states where dove hunting is allowed, they are generally used as "warm up practice" for other seasons covered under the same "blanket" license of small game. An additional license is not required and the Department of Natural Resources analysis says that "it is not expected that a mourning dove hunting season will result in additional sales of small game licenses."

It is true that American robins, cardinals, goldfinches and chickadees have high mortality rates, too, and have large populations, so I guess their meat is going to waste as well.

Does that mean we should start hunting American robins? Just because you can do something, and even if one can do it without causing severe problems (and that isn't the case with dove hunting), it doesn't mean that one ought to or should do it. There are other considerations.

There is no compelling reason for Michigan to break its tradition of protecting the mourning dove, which began in 1905. And it is unnecessary and unseemly to start shooting Michigan's official "Bird of Peace," as established by House Resolution No. 244 on March 25, 1998. But there are very compelling reasons not to make this change.

Michigan is on the northern fringe of the mourning dove's range. Doves do not flock in large numbers in fields here like they do in migration farther south, where they fly up before being shot.

Here, they tend to perch on decks, bird feeders, porches and utility lines. Utility companies in the past have opposed dove hunting out of concern about utility lines and transformers being shot out.

The wounding rate for duck hunting is 25 percent, according to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

With doves being so much smaller, the wounding rate is much greater. And there is less likelihood that a wounded dove will be tracked down or retrieved by dogs. This is a big reason many hunters oppose dove hunting.

Research studies not only contradict the assumption that hunting won't impact the dove population, but have repeatedly shown a continuing decrease in dove numbers in states that allow them to be hunted. Doves are usually hunted during the nesting season.

If one parent is shot, all of the young usually die. The national average for fledging of mourning doves is 3.5 per pair each year, but in Michigan the success rate is only 2.2 young per pair due to adverse weather conditions (doves build very flimsy nests).

Michigan's population is just holding steady. The Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas states: "If the species were hunted here, we would probably lose a large segment of the wintering flock" that Michiganders like to observe at bird feeders and on birding trips.

Statewide public opinion surveys in 1995 and 2000 not only show that the vast majority of Michiganders oppose dove hunting, but even a majority of hunters oppose it. Among Republican women, the opposition was over 90 percent.

Doves are easily mistaken for protected species including the American kestrel, which has the similar habit of perching on wires and being about the same size and shape.

Even our president, George W. Bush, with experienced guides, mistakenly shot a killdeer while hunting doves in 1994 and paid a fine. Dove hunting is promoted for children and new recruits to hunting, who have less skill in bird identification than seasoned hunters. That means even greater chances for misidentifications and killings of similar species.

Lead shot is used to hunt doves. Studies show that it takes about eight boxes of lead shells to harvest just one bird, Not only are doves killed directly by lead shot, but they also ingest it as they forage -- a double whammy.

Lead-poisoned doves (and other birds that pick up the shot in foraging as well) are eaten by raptors and mammalian predators, threatening their populations as well.

In other states, whose example Michigan will certainly follow, the "limit" is 15 birds a day. Thus, over the 60-day season, a hunter is allowed to take 900 birds.

There are even contests in hunting states whereby hunters see who can first get to 100, 200 or 300 and each additional hundred mark. This is not hunting: It's target practice.

West Nile virus is taking a toll on birds, and mourning doves are listed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a "watch-list species" for this disease. It makes no sense to now add another significant mortality factor into the mix. Let us err on the side of caution.

The Detroit Audubon and Michigan Audubon societies are not opposed to hunting; in fact, we both count many hunters in our ranks. We recognize the value of hunting as a management tool for game species.

But there is no management reason to hunt doves. In fact, many ethical hunters oppose dove hunting because they know it is really not hunting, but simply using living things as "target practice." In fact, doves are often referred to as "skeet" in states that allow them to be hunted.

The fact that the dove hunting proponents in the Legislature keep trying to slip this bill through without adequate notice for hearings and public debate are strong indications that they want to avoid popular public opinion shining its light on this misguided effort.

Let's keep Michigan's almost 100-year tradition of protecting this favorite song and feeder bird.

Dr. James Bull, is president of the Detroit Audubon Society

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