Veto Likely for Dove Bill

Published April 1, 2004. Jackson Citizen Patriot
Veto likely for dove bill

LANSING -- A bill that would allow hunters to shoot mourning doves in Michigan passed the state Senate on Wednesday, but it faces a likely veto from Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

The bill would add the mourning dove to the state's game list, ending a hunting ban that began nearly a century ago.

The Senate, without discussion, passed the bill, 22-15, with area senators Beverly Hammerstrom, R-Temperance, and Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, voting yes and no, respectively. A similar version has passed the House. The bill must return to the House to consider Senate changes.

"The governor can't support it and won't support it unless it includes a referendum allowing it to go to voters," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said.

At least 39 other states allow mourning dove hunts, including Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio. Supporters say a Michigan season would keep hunters in-state and possibly boost the economy. Opponents say the doves are songbirds that should be protected.

Scott Dahlberg, 37, an avid outdoorsman from Litchfield, was cheered by the Senate's approval, saying he's tired of hearing the negatives about dove hunting.

"They eat mostly corn and wheat. I don't think that helps farmers," he said of arguments that doves eat pesky bugs.

Among local opponents of the bill is Liz Fraser, 76, of Albion, who has sent letters to nearly every newspaper she can think of and has talked to lawmakers to help keep doves from being shot at. "I'm sick about it," she said of the approval. "I'm heartbroken."

But Fraser said she's ready to collect signatures and fight for the songbirds.

"They have enough to shoot," she said. "Why shoot doves? It's a little tiny piece of meat. There are 9 million reasons not to pass this."