News - Dove-lovers Petition to Repeal Law


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	Dove-lovers Petition to Repeal Law Published August 6, 2004. By Chris Christoff. Detroit Free Press. Dove-lovers Petition to Repeal Law LANSING -- A lot of mourning doves will die first, but animal lovers hope to save more later with a statewide ballot to call off dove hunting next year. They announced a campaign Thursday for a November 2006 ballot proposal to repeal the dove-hunting law approved in June by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Michigan's first legal dove hunt in 100 years is planned this fall in six of the state's southern counties -- Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Branch, Hillsdale and Lenawee. The coalition of opponents needs 158,000 valid signatures by March to suspend the law until it's decided by voters. That would block fall dove-hunting seasons in 2005 and 2006. Collecting signatures shouldn't be a problem, said Mark Markarian, president of the Fund for Animals, based in Washington, D.C., one of 10 organizations behind the petition drive. "So many citizens are outraged that Governor Granholm and the Legislature allowed this bill to pass that people want to do something about it," Markarian said. The Department of Natural Resources is preparing for a 3-year pilot hunt in the six counties. After three seasons of the September hunt, the Natural Resources Commission would decide whether to expand hunting to other counties. The resources commission will meet Thursday to consider guidelines for a dove hunt. On Sept. 9, it is expected to set a hunt for this year, which could start Sept. 10. Sam Washington, executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, called the antihunting petition drive premature because there is no evidence that hunting hurts the dove population. "The only thing a casual observer can conclude is it's based on emotion and politics because it certainly isn't based on science," Washington said. "The bottom line of their petition is an almost anthropomorphic view of doves as something other than wildlife and a renewable natural resource." Washington said his organization would work to defeat a ballot proposal to repeal dove hunting. The issue inflames passions on both sides. Hunting enthusiasts tried for 20 years to legalize dove hunting but were blocked either by the Legislature or the courts. While hunters call doves a delicacy that thrives despite hunting in most states, opponents say they are songbirds that, like robins and cardinals, should not be hunted. "These are social issues. We're not just looking at wildlife biology," said Markarian of the Fund for Animals. " It's not a question of whether we can hunt mourning doves, it's a question of whether we should. On Wednesday, Markarian's coalition showed reporters a videotape of doves eating at backyard feeders and others being blasted in fields by hunters, with some birds flapping in their death throes. Opponents say that besides the cruelty, the shot used to kill doves exposes other wildlife to harmful lead that is left scattered in fields. Among organizations trying to stop dove hunting are the Detroit and Michigan Audubon societies, the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

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