damn anti dove at it again!

[neil duffey]

Anyone heard them on the radio yet? Do we have an organization with $$ to counter the ads? MUCC, NRA or other??

Anti-Dove Killing Ad Hits Radio Waves
The Committee to Keep Doves Protected, which is the group that wants to restore the Dove hunting ban, today released its first radio ad on 50 stations throughout the state.

The ad says that doves should remain protected because they are not overpopulated, they're not harmful to people or property and they are shot for target practice not for food because their bodies are so little.

"The grassroots support we've received is very gratifying and has allowed us to launch our advertising campaign that urges Michigan residents to keep doves protected by voting no on Proposal 3," said Julie BAKER with the committee. "Polls continue to show that a vast majority of Michigan residents want to keep doves protected. Proposal 3 is just about protecting doves and nothing else, regardless of what our opponents' ads might say."

The group wants to see the 100-year old ban on dove hunting restored and has been very active in campaigning against Proposal 3.

[contrary2ordinary]

If overpopulation and being a nuisence are the criteria for having a hunting season, there should be open seasons on hippies and politicians.

[fasthunter]

That's a pretty ignorant thing to say "People don't eat them and there bodies are too small." That just goes to show you that people will lie and say anything to get there agenda through. They actually do taste really good. I had some before and it was actually one of the better tasting birds that I've ever ate. I like the dark meat. It would be nice to know if there were any groups trying to come up with money to air on the radio too that are in support of dove hunting. Either way I will be out voting to keep the dove hunt. It's annoying to me how many people complain about stupid laws and how our government is taking more and more of our freedoms everyday and then they realize......Duh......Wait a minute I didn't vote or don't do there research all the way and find out what they are voting for or against is not there best option. IMO I think there are already too many laws out there that annoy me. Why would I want another one to forbid me.

[neil duffey]

i think we need to get the cwc to use our money on a counter add. how bout the peta adds on fsn? any one see those?

[bucksnort73]

they are shot for target practice not for food because their bodies are so little.

It doesn't surprise me that they would resort to lies to make their argument. They don't really have a legitimate biological reason to state so they resort to the emotions of the average non-hunter to make them feel like we are going to be plinking them off their bird feeders. You are right. We need someone to speak out for us. Hunters and their supporters have been the silent majority for too long. Time to be heard. Just my opinion.:rant:

[fasthunter]

I don't have a ton of money, but if I knew a way I could donate I'm willing. I'm sure there are alot of others too.

[kbkrause]

I don't have a ton of money, but if I knew a way I could donate I'm willing. I'm sure there are alot of others too.

fasthunter, please check out this organization if you wish to donate time or money to this cause... http://www.cwcmi.org/index.htm

[Gobblerman]

I believe there is a meeting this Friday evening at the Kelloggsville Christian Reformed church on 52nd street in Kentwood this Friday evening. They are looking at the anti dove hunting movement and what we as hunters can do to combat it.

[GrouseBuster]

That's a pretty ignorant thing to say "People don't eat them and there bodies are too small." That just goes to show you that people will lie and say anything to get there agenda through. They actually do taste really good. I had some before and it was actually one of the better tasting birds that I've ever ate. I like the dark meat. It would be nice to know if there were any groups trying to come up with money to air on the radio too that are in support of dove hunting. Either way I will be out voting to keep the dove hunt. It's annoying to me how many people complain about stupid laws and how our government is taking more and more of our freedoms everyday and then they realize......Duh......Wait a minute I didn't vote or don't do there research all the way and find out what they are voting for or against is not there best option. IMO I think there are already too many laws out there that annoy me. Why would I want another one to forbid me.



Well said. Apparently the individual that came up with the sound bite about doves being too sall to eat has never eaten a quail let alone shot one. I think it would take at least two quail to equal one dove. Quail are incredibly tasty. :p

[warthog]

to small to eat, I guess thay never ate shrimp.

[shortbox11]

fasthunter, please check out this organization if you wish to donate time or money to this cause... http://www.cwcmi.org/index.htm
I'm going to check it out. Thanks.

[fasthunter]

That last post that was by shortbox11 was actually me. I work with him and we share the same computer. He was still logged on and I posted as him by accident. I will check it out though.

[Backwoods-Savage]

I believe there is a meeting this Friday evening at the Kelloggsville Christian Reformed church on 52nd street in Kentwood this Friday evening. They are looking at the anti dove hunting movement and what we as hunters can do to combat it.

Best advice I can give is to leave the emotions out of it as much as possible. Let the intelligence rule the meetings and comments. Yes, the antis go 100% on emotions and for the most part get the women and young on their sides plus some flakes. Still, intelligence in the long run will overrule emotions.

[omega58]

Check out the t-shirts that are for sale as well on this site through Dyeman. I ordered a few last week, they are nice quality and get the point acrossed and I noticed a lot of people at the stores reading it and had some stop and ask me about them. . .seems a lot of people don't care either way, so we need to let them hear the facts about doves.


Here is a good question/answer sheet, just save it to word and print it.

Questions and Answers
About a Mourning Dove Season for Michigan

Q—Why should Michigan have a mourning dove hunting season?

A—Hunting has been recognized as a legitimate and healthful outdoor activity throughout the history of our nation. The mourning dove has been recognized as a game bird by international law for more than 70 years. Authorizing a dove season will provide the opportunity for additional outdoor recreation for thousands of Michigan citizens, just as it does in other states, without jeopardizing the resource.

Q—Hunters already may legally take several species of birds in Michigan-pheasants, grouse, turkeys, woodcock, quail, ducks, and geese. Why should mourning doves be added to the list?

A—Mourning dove hunting is quite different from other types of bird hunting. There are many reasons for its popularity in the states where it is practiced—the bird’s widespread abundance, its challenge to the wingshooter, its tender and flavorsome meat, the inexpensive nature of the sport (since the birds are found almost everywhere in these states, hunters needn’t travel far to enjoy their sport), and dove hunting can be enjoyed by youngsters, the elderly and handicapped, as well as the average hunter. Failure to allow dove hunting deprives all of these persons of a privilege granted to millions of people in other states.

Q—What other states allow dove hunting?

A—Doves are hunted in 39 of the 48 contiguous states, in fact, the mourning dove is the number one game bird in the United States. More mourning doves are taken by hunters in this country than all other migratory game birds combined . All of the states south of Michigan have dove seasons. Since Michigan is one of the leading producers of mourning doves and since the bird is migratory, this means that Michigan annually raises millions of doves for hunters in other states.

Q—Wouldn’t hunting seriously reduce the number of doves in Michigan ?

A—Hunting has little bearing on the overall population of mourning doves. In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found that there is essentially no difference in population trends over 10-year periods between states in which dove hunting is permitted and states in which it is not permitted.

Q—If hunting has little bearing on the overall population of game birds how can you explain the low numbers of pheasants and quail in Michigan ?


A—The number of pheasants has dropped for several reasons, the most important being the loss of habitat (heavy cover such as wetlands and late spring nesting cover such as fallow fields) as a result of changes in farming practices. Hayfields, prime nesting spots, are mowed earlier than ever (the first cutting is often in late May or early June, which coincides with the peak in pheasant nesting) with equipment that is faster than ever before. Many nesting birds are killed as a result of early hay mowing. The Michigan quail population will always be subjected to the mercy of the weather because this state in on the northern fringe of the quail’s range. The mourning dove, on the other hand, is ideally suited to Michigan ’s land use pattern. Doves coexist very well with modern agriculture, feeding on scattered seeds left by mechanical harvester and planters and nesting in the trees and shrubs scattered along the edges of fields and in urban areas.

Q—How many doves are killed by hunters every year?

A—The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the mourning dove as the most abundant game bird in the nation. The nation’s fall population of mourning doves is slightly more than 400 million birds. An estimated two million people hunt doves each year in the United States alone and they take less than six percent of the fall population.

Q—If hunters remove six percent of the doves each year, how can you say that hunting has little effect on total numbers of doves?

A—Hunted or not, the life expectancy of a dove is a little less than one year, with more than half the population dying during any 12-month period. This is because the dove has a natural mortality rate of nearly 70 percent through predation, disease, adverse weather, and accidents. Like other game species, doves cannot be “stockpiled”. If that six percent weren’t taken by hunters, in all likelihood, it would be removed by predation, disease and other mortality factors.

Q—But hunting is said to have caused the extinction of the passenger pigeon. Why couldn’t the same fate befall the mourning dove?

A—It is true that astronomical numbers of passenger pigeons were killed by hunting—but this was unregulated market hunting, not sport hunting. No species has ever been exterminated by sport hunting. Even market hunting is not being questioned as the real cause of the demise of the passenger pigeon. Roger Tory Peterson believes the real culprit in the extinction of the passenger pigeon was not market hunting but an avian disease (which was imported by settlers via domestic fowl). Passenger pigeons nested in huge colonies, making them especially vulnerable to the spread of communicable diseases. Another leading theory blames the loss of nesting habitat—the rapid and complete cutting of all the extensive stands of mature beech, oak, and maple forests that were crucial to the survival of the passenger pigeon. Unlike the passenger pigeon, mourning doves are solitary nesters. But they are prolific breeders and have the longest breeding season of any North American bird. In fact, doves in southern states nest year-round and even in northern states may begin nesting as early as late winter/early spring and continue nesting into September.

Q – If doves are nesting in September, isn’t it likely that hunters will shoot birds with eggs or nestlings?

A – In a public hearing before the U.S. Department of Interior on June 21, 1978 , John M. Anderson of the Sanctuary Department of the National Audubon Society said, “…doves that are nesting are much less vulnerable because they are more sedentary and seldom join the flocks feeding in fields where hunters are attempting to take them. They tend to remain in the suburbs and around cemeteries where their nests are located.” A three-year study conducted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and 27 state fish and wildlife agencies in response to a concern the September hunting might have adverse effects on dove populations by killing adults which might still have eggs or young in the nest indicates that September hunting has little impact on dove populations. The observed difference between the daily survival rates of individuals in the hunted areas and non-hunted areas was not statistically significant nor was the difference in survival of nests.

Q – Won’t legalized dove hunting result in the shooting of doves in residential bird feeders?

A – For the sportsman or woman, the chief attraction of dove hunting is the great challenge of taking the bird in flight, commonly referred to as “wingshooting.” Even if this were not so, bird feeders maintained near residences are protected from hunters by trespass laws, safety zones, Federal baiting laws and/or local ordinances against discharging firearms within the limits of a municipality.

Q – Won’t dove hunting reduce the number of doves at bird feeders and make them more wary of coming to feeders?

A – No. In states that allow dove hunting, doves come to bird feeders just like they do in states that don’t allow hunting. Like all game birds, doves quickly learn where to avoid humans and where to come near humans (e.g. wild mallards at local parks).

Q – Won’t legalizing dove hunting result in persons hunting from roadsides and shooting doves off telephone and electric wires?

A – First, it is illegal to hunt or pursue wild animals or birds from a motor vehicle. Second, it is illegal to hunt within the right-of-way of any public highway or road except with the permission of the abutting landowner. Finally, shooting at telephone or electric wires (or any other property) could result in damage to the property, for which the shooter would be liable.

Q – If dove hunting would provide so much more recreation, wouldn’t landowners be subject to problems of trespass and property damage?

A – Again, landowners are covered by trespass laws. While it does not have a specific policy on dove hunting, the Michigan Farm Bureau has said it does not anticipate any such problems from a dove season.

Q – If it becomes legal to hunt doves, isn’t it likely that hunters will mistakenly shoot kestrels, which are protected by law but which somewhat resemble doves in size and appearance?

A – The ability to differentiate between species is implicit in all hunting. Several species that resemble other birds have been legal game in Michigan for years. The crow, for instance, resembles the protected raven much more closely than the mourning dove resembles the kestrel. Ruffed grouse closely resemble protected spruce grouse. Duck hunters are called upon to distinguish between a wide variety of waterfowl, many of which look very much like one another.

Q – Aren’t doves relatively tame so that they would make easy targets?

A – Experienced dove hunters would disagree. They may be unwary during the first few minutes of the hunting season, but they soon become very wary. Doves turn acrobat in the air, diving, twisting, turning and flying at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour. They are challenging for even the best of shots.

Q – They are so small, why would a hunter want to bother cleaning and preparing them for the table?

A – A dove’s breast is surprisingly large and very tasty. Furthermore, the size of any food item does not diminish its desirability. The bluegill is small, but is one of the most sought after game fish in Michigan .

Q – Aren’t doves songbirds?

A – No. There are about 30 orders of birds in the world representing over 10,000 species. Songbirds, or passerines, belong to the order passeriformes . This group includes many families of birds including, but not limited to, swallows, warblers, wrens, finches, larks, nuthatches, thrushes and blackbirds. Mourning doves belong to the order columbiformes . This group of birds includes dove and pigeon species. Comparing the mourning dove to a songbird is like saying a whitetail deer is a rodent. Both examples are completely different groups of animals with many distinct characteristics and traits.

Q – If mourning doves are migratory does that mean they are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?

A – The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was established in 1918 as a result of the 1916 convention between the US and Canada . Treaties now exist between the U.S. and Mexico , the U.S. and Japan , and the U.S. and the Soviet Union (now Russia ). Subsequent conventions are held to further establish goals and guidelines for the protection and regulation of migratory birds. One provision of this treaty is to regulate hunting of specified gamebird species. This authority is granted to the Secretary of the Interior. The migratory bird conventions with Canada and Mexico define "game birds" as those species belonging to several families including the family columbidae (pigeons and doves).
Q – What guarantee does the public have that a dove season wouldn’t open the way for more “slob” hunting in Michigan ?

A – There can be no guarantee that slob hunting will not occur, any more than there can be a guarantee that there will be no slob driving on our highways. However, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, which is working to bring about a dove season in this state, has promoted the concept of ethical conduct among sportsmen and women in the field throughout its 66-year history. Its efforts to advance hunter’s responsibility toward game and natural resources and respect for private property have taken many forms, including:

• Education in these areas in the organization’s monthly magazine, Michigan Out-of-Doors, and our weekly TV show with the same name.

• Widespread distribution of literature on this subject

• Origin of the idea for the Report All Poaching (RAP) program and subsequent promotion of the program

• Teaching hunter safety training courses by any of its more than 500 affiliate clubs.

• When dove hunting is legalized in Michigan , MUCC will undertake the responsibility of making this sport as widely acceptable to the general public as possible.

[Gobblerman]

Nothing like dove cooked on the grill with a small slice of jalepno placed in a small slit in the breast then wrapped with bacon and covered with BBQ sauce. Just delicous.

[JAG]

Is it possible to get a list of the stations? Flood their phone lines.:rant:

[Zeboy]

i think we need to get the cwc to use our money on a counter add. how bout the peta adds on fsn? any one see those?


cwc - (the link was provided earlier in this thread) has been begging for money for nearly a year from Sportsman. I'm sorry to say that not enough sportsman have stepped up.

There will be counter ads - but - you can bet that we will be out spent 5 or 10 to 1 on by the antis on this issue. If anyone has been waiting to donate - wait no longer. Every dollar you can spare is needed on this one.

[fasthunter]

I just went to the website and did what I could do. I also told one of my other friends who's also a hunter to check the site out as well and to spread the word around. Hope others take the 5 min to do the same.