For the first time since 1918 hunters will be able to hunt Mourning Doves in Iowa – but with one big caveat. Lead ammunition will not be allowed. Thoughts?
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
On such an issue, I found BirdChick’s assessment to be convincing. And hurrah for States’ rights!
Looks fine to me. I’ve enjoyed eating pigeon before and it isn’t like Mourning Doves are endangered.
What I can’t figure out is if they acknowledge using lead to hunt has a negative impact why lead hasn’t been banned for hunting altogether in Iowa?
The Passenger Pigeon was similar to but larger than the Mourning Dove, once probably the most numerous bird on the planet, it made its home in the primary forest that once covered North America east of the Rocky Mountains. Their flocks, a mile wide and up to 300 miles long, were so dense that they darkened the sky for hours and days as the flock passed overhead. Population estimates from the 19th century ranged from 1 billion to close to 4 billion individuals.
Passenger Pigeon now extinct,the last reported individuals in the wild were shot at Babcock, Wisconsin in 1899, and in Pike County, Ohio on March 24, 1900.
Just reminding you …….
I doubt anyone has forgotten, Jul, but the circumstances are not the same and the comparison isn’t to my mind particularly useful.
Hunters are just big thugs, anywhere, anytime! Hunters should only be allowed to hunt other hunters and then the planet would be rid of them!
Texas has permitted dove hunting for years. As I understand it, hunting the birds is necessary for conservation, and tens of millions of mourning doves are legally “harvested” in more states than not every year. Still, it isn’t humane and it doesn’t seem right.
I do some part-time work for Cabela’s, the sporting-goods outfitter, and I took a call one time from a gentleman in Wisconsin (I think it was) protesting that state’s mourning-dove hunt and the company’s “sponsorship” thereof. He claimed the hunt would “decimate these beautiful songbirds”, which in my estimation undermined his credibility: If he doesn’t know the difference between a columbiform and a passerine, why should anyone assume he knows anything about population dynamics, either?
Bottom line: Mourning doves have been hunted for years in many states, with no deleterious effect on MODO populations. And they are a fine gamebird: very challenging to shoot, fantastic eating.
I do think, to answer Corey’s question, that eventually lead ammunition will become a thing of the past. And while some hunters and ammunition manufacturers are raising a hue and cry, eventually we’ll all look back (hunters included) and wonder why we waited so long. Meanwhile we’ll have to settle for incremental bans on lead, like this one.
Brenton, that is a very unfair statement. If it weren’t for hunter’s, millions of acres of wetlands, grasslands and forests would be gone forever. Not to mention the quality of water in many areas. I personally spend at least $200 a year on hunting licenses, fishing licenses, and habitat fees. Which go toward funding projects to save these habitats and important places in our environment. Not to mention the other $100 or more i donate to ducks unlimited, pheasants forever, and whitetails forever which also spend millions a year on the same effort.
So now i ask you this question. How much money do you donate every year to these same causes or any environmental cause. I love when I here ignorant people say they hate hunters because of what we do, but in actuality it is us who have the biggest impact on saving and maintaining this environment that you love and enjoy so much.
I also buy numerous licenses to hunt, fish and support local and state wildlife. I find hunting and fishing to be enjoyable for many reasons including exercise, meeting new friends, staying in touch with family, exploring wildlife, and having adventures I would otherwise never experience without being in the woods or out on the lake. Maybe those who feel as Brenton do should try hunting for themselves before they speak ill towards hunters as a whole.
As for Brenton, people are not game. No one should ever hunt another person. Ever. I do understand people kill other people in war, but hunting is not warfare. So here’s a little word of advice. Don’t write or say that hunters (or anyone for that matter) should hunt, kill, or shoot anyone else. Saying phrases like that is inappropriate, stupid, and shows how ignorant and inconsiderate you are of hunters and what being a hunter means. I do realize some hunters are like thugs but to say we all are is upsetting and offensive. Please do everyone (hunters and non-hunters) a favor and keep your trap shut next time. I, and I am sure others will appreciate it.
On a different note I can not wait to aim at some Iowa doves this fall because they are a challenge and good to eat. I have no problem with buying lead free shot because it is better for the environment. What I don’t understand is why dove hunts are the only ones restricted to no lead. What about other game birds, migratory birds and waterfowl? Anyways, good luck to all you other hunters and especially to Brenton. With comments like “Hunters should only be allowed to hunt other hunters” he’s really going to need it.