Published 10/15/2001 - Associated Press

Protectors of the mourning dove are preparing to open season on state Rep. Susan Tabor.

In the renewed attempt to make the songbird a target of game hunting, Tabor has begun a letter campaign to gauge whether she has enough support now to reintroduce a bill to legalize dove hunting. The same bill failed by one Senate vote last December.

Tabor, R-Delta Township, said she has no immediate plans to reintroduce the controversial and highly emotional legislation. But she said she would if she gets enough letters of support. "I still want to see mourning dove hunting in Michigan," Tabor said. "I haven't changed my mind on that. And I will push for it again if there's enough support out there."

Countering her efforts are about 4,700 members of the Lansing-based Songbird Protection Coalition. The group, formed in response to Tabor's failed attempt last year, has started its own letter campaign to counter Tabor's.

A message posted last week on the web site for the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Ownership urges people to help promote passage of the dove hunting bill by writing to Gov. John Engler. The message blames animal rights activists for the failure of the bill last year and says, "We are sick and tired of the animal rights extremists dictating our wildlife management." The message says it is from Tabor and Jim Shaeffer, vice chairman of the state council of Pheasants Forever. Tabor is a member of the gun ownership coalition and is on the board of the group's educational foundation.

Helping her with the campaign will be the newly formed Dove Sportsmen's Society of Michigan. The state chapter of the national organization was created this summer to help promote legislation to create a dove season. So far, about 25 hunters have joined and there are plans now to start chapters in Ann Arbor and in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, said state Chairman Andy Stancil of Romeo.

There have been several past efforts to end the 96-year ban on hunting mourning doves. The Senate passed similar bills three times, most recently in 1995, but it died in the House. In 1987, a court stopped the Michigan Natural Resources Commission from establishing a dove hunting season without the Legislature's approval.

Tabor's efforts last year fell one vote short as lawmakers pushed it through during the last hours before ending the year. Senators said they were inundated with calls and letters on the issue, most in opposition.

Mourning doves, marked by a distinctive call and a soft gray color, are often seen at backyard feeders and in farm fields. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are more than 400 million of the birds, including about 4 million in Michigan.

Supporters say the migratory birds are fun to hunt because their fast, erratic flight patterns make them a challenge to shoot.

Opponents, which include the Humane Society of America, say there is no reason to shoot doves because they yield only an ounce or less of meat and can be confused with some protected birds.

Mourning doves, said Julie Baker, one of the founding members, are used by dove hunters simply as target practice. There's no reason to shoot these birds," she said. "They are beautiful, peaceful birds."

As a member of several local gun and hunting groups, Tabor said she often is asked to speak at banquets and meetings about what it will take to get dove hunting legalized. In the past, the effort has been backed by the National Rifle Association, Michigan United Conservation Clubs and other hunting advocates.

Tabor said she hoped to get more support this year. There are a lot of people out there who want this and the animal rights activists are very nervous about that," she said. "But these aren't the people who buy hunting and fishing permits so they don't even support wildlife management in Michigan. Really then, it's not their business so they ought to just stick to their cats and dogs and leave the wildlife to us."