News

South Bend Tribune: Unfortunate Dove Hunt

Published August 13, 2004. South Bend Tribune. Editorial Board Opinion.
Unfortunately, dove hunts are coming

Well, that's politics for you. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who said she opposed the hunting of mourning doves, signed a bill allowing trial hunts for three years.

She had promised to veto any bill that did not include a referendum allowing Michigan residents to decide if they want dove hunts. In essence, she's gone back on her word.

Now, dove-hunt opponents are planning a petition drive to place a referendum on the ballot in 2006.

We wish them the best of luck. The voters should decide. What we expect them to decide is that mourning doves are songbirds that should not be hunted. That would be the right decision, in any case.

If the state's Natural Resources Commission approves a measure, the hunts would be held on a trial basis. The effects of the hunts would then be studied to determine their effect on the dove population.

Regardless how those studies go, the hunts are a bad idea. It's too bad the governor doesn't see it that way anymore.

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