safetreehunt
08-02-2005, 09:59 AM
An old friend from my high school wrote an elightening article about the Michigan Dove hunting issue. I thought I'd share it with you. Not only well written, but entertaining as well. I got a few good chuckles on this.
coo
Jim
July 10, 2005
Back to our favorite subject
By BRUCE BISCHOFF
Record-Eagle outdoors columnist
Our subject this week is once again the most widely hunted gamebird in North America, the mourning dove.
I really didn't intend to make a career out of this issue, and I suspect the time isn't far off when I will have spent more time writing about mourning doves than actually hunting them. And even though arguing with the antis is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel -- relax, it's just a figure of speech -- I feel I owe it to our non-aligned readers to try to inject a few facts and perhaps even a bit of logic into the debate.
I will repeat that I'm always a bit amazed by the righteous outrage and high moral dudgeon that seizes some otherwise reasonable people when the subject of dove hunting comes up. I sometimes wonder what would happen if they could direct that energy toward some of the truly important issues that affect real human beings. Maybe if Iraqi children mutilated in the war could learn to sit in bird feeders and coo softly they'd have a chance at getting some empathy, too.
My recent observations on the sport of dove hunting have generated a spate of responses. The e-mails have been running heavily in favor of hunting, while the letters have been the exact opposite. I'm not sure what significance, if any, attaches to this.
From the responses, I've gathered that the objections to dove hunting boil down to three main themes:
- Doves aren't overpopulated and aren't damaging the environment, so there's no justification for hunting them.
Well, neither are pheasants, grouse, woodcock, quail or any number of other gamebirds and animals. Does this mean hunting them should be outlawed too? I suspect for most of the antis the answer is "yes," but they're not about to tip their hand publicly in a state with a strong hunting tradition like Michigan's.
Instead, they seem to be implying here that some kinds of hunting are OK, as long as it's for population control only. But a quick visit to the Web site of their backing organization, the Humane Society of the United States, shows a history of trying to shut down population control hunts for various species across the country.
This argument also assumes, out of the blue, that people need a reason to hunt. Hunting is an ancient and honorable human tradition that needs neither justification nor excuse.
- Doves shouldn't be hunted because they are too small to eat.
I call this the "size matters" gambit. By this line of reasoning, quail and jacksnipe should be off limits, too. Woodcock? Pretty borderline; better outlaw hunting them, too. And teal. And no more eating those little bluegills and brook trout. And smelt -- forget it. Froglegs? Shrimp? That's crazy talk.
In fact a dove breast is about the size of a hard-boiled egg. And here's the wacky part for our anti-hunting friends: you can eat more than one at a sitting! What a concept!
- The mourning dove shouldn't be hunted because it is the gentle Bird of Peace.
Anyone who has spent any time watching birds at a feeder knows that doves are no more gentle than any other bird. They won't hesitate to assert their territorial dominance or drive smaller birds away from the feed. They are neither gentle nor cruel; they are simply birds doing what birds do.
After much thought, I've concluded that the reason people insist on ascribing human traits like gentleness to doves comes down to a single trait: because they coo. I don't know if this stirs up some primal protective maternal instinct in human females or what. But just for a moment, imagine if doves had a voice like, say, a bluejay. We wouldn't be having this discussion.
Although I've heard numerous references to doves as the biblical "bird of peace," an online search of Strong's Concordance finds only a reference in Matthew to being "harmless as doves." My search did turn up numerous other biblical references to doves, including today's Fun Fact that doves were among the favored creatures to be ritually slaughtered and burned on the Temple altar as an offering to Yahweh, the ancient Hebrews apparently being untroubled by debates over animal rights.
Milestone
Readers of our Thursday outdoors page are aware that longtime AP outdoor columnist Herb Boldt has retired his column.
I first met Herb in my hometown of Tawas, where he had retired after a long career at the Detroit News. I frequently used to run into him fishing on the East Tawas dock and once visited his home for a drink and some good conversation about the newspaper biz.
Herb is a class act, a gentleman and a nice guy. He reflects all that's best about the outdoor fraternity, and I hope to see him on the dock next November for the whitefish run.
Record-Eagle staffer Bruce Bischoff is a contributing writer to the outdoors page. He can be contacted at bbischoff@record-eagle.com
coo
Jim
July 10, 2005
Back to our favorite subject
By BRUCE BISCHOFF
Record-Eagle outdoors columnist
Our subject this week is once again the most widely hunted gamebird in North America, the mourning dove.
I really didn't intend to make a career out of this issue, and I suspect the time isn't far off when I will have spent more time writing about mourning doves than actually hunting them. And even though arguing with the antis is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel -- relax, it's just a figure of speech -- I feel I owe it to our non-aligned readers to try to inject a few facts and perhaps even a bit of logic into the debate.
I will repeat that I'm always a bit amazed by the righteous outrage and high moral dudgeon that seizes some otherwise reasonable people when the subject of dove hunting comes up. I sometimes wonder what would happen if they could direct that energy toward some of the truly important issues that affect real human beings. Maybe if Iraqi children mutilated in the war could learn to sit in bird feeders and coo softly they'd have a chance at getting some empathy, too.
My recent observations on the sport of dove hunting have generated a spate of responses. The e-mails have been running heavily in favor of hunting, while the letters have been the exact opposite. I'm not sure what significance, if any, attaches to this.
From the responses, I've gathered that the objections to dove hunting boil down to three main themes:
- Doves aren't overpopulated and aren't damaging the environment, so there's no justification for hunting them.
Well, neither are pheasants, grouse, woodcock, quail or any number of other gamebirds and animals. Does this mean hunting them should be outlawed too? I suspect for most of the antis the answer is "yes," but they're not about to tip their hand publicly in a state with a strong hunting tradition like Michigan's.
Instead, they seem to be implying here that some kinds of hunting are OK, as long as it's for population control only. But a quick visit to the Web site of their backing organization, the Humane Society of the United States, shows a history of trying to shut down population control hunts for various species across the country.
This argument also assumes, out of the blue, that people need a reason to hunt. Hunting is an ancient and honorable human tradition that needs neither justification nor excuse.
- Doves shouldn't be hunted because they are too small to eat.
I call this the "size matters" gambit. By this line of reasoning, quail and jacksnipe should be off limits, too. Woodcock? Pretty borderline; better outlaw hunting them, too. And teal. And no more eating those little bluegills and brook trout. And smelt -- forget it. Froglegs? Shrimp? That's crazy talk.
In fact a dove breast is about the size of a hard-boiled egg. And here's the wacky part for our anti-hunting friends: you can eat more than one at a sitting! What a concept!
- The mourning dove shouldn't be hunted because it is the gentle Bird of Peace.
Anyone who has spent any time watching birds at a feeder knows that doves are no more gentle than any other bird. They won't hesitate to assert their territorial dominance or drive smaller birds away from the feed. They are neither gentle nor cruel; they are simply birds doing what birds do.
After much thought, I've concluded that the reason people insist on ascribing human traits like gentleness to doves comes down to a single trait: because they coo. I don't know if this stirs up some primal protective maternal instinct in human females or what. But just for a moment, imagine if doves had a voice like, say, a bluejay. We wouldn't be having this discussion.
Although I've heard numerous references to doves as the biblical "bird of peace," an online search of Strong's Concordance finds only a reference in Matthew to being "harmless as doves." My search did turn up numerous other biblical references to doves, including today's Fun Fact that doves were among the favored creatures to be ritually slaughtered and burned on the Temple altar as an offering to Yahweh, the ancient Hebrews apparently being untroubled by debates over animal rights.
Milestone
Readers of our Thursday outdoors page are aware that longtime AP outdoor columnist Herb Boldt has retired his column.
I first met Herb in my hometown of Tawas, where he had retired after a long career at the Detroit News. I frequently used to run into him fishing on the East Tawas dock and once visited his home for a drink and some good conversation about the newspaper biz.
Herb is a class act, a gentleman and a nice guy. He reflects all that's best about the outdoor fraternity, and I hope to see him on the dock next November for the whitefish run.
Record-Eagle staffer Bruce Bischoff is a contributing writer to the outdoors page. He can be contacted at bbischoff@record-eagle.com