Michigan

Songbird Protection Coalition

Even the Majority of Hunters Agree

"I don't think it's a mark of a true outdoorsman to shoot doves." -- Lifelong avid hunter and 30+ year State Senator Harry Gast [Retired] -- Journal of the Senate, December 14, 2000

"Are robins next?  After all, their breast is as big as that of a dove. Shouldn't we think about putting robins on the list?  Then what about blue jays and brown thrushes? Seagulls--hell, there are a lot of those around the Great Lakes?  And then, if we shoot one of these birds, and you sort through the bloody feathers and hunt for the meat that you think you've got, and you've found it's all shot to heck, what have you done other than take the life of a bird?  Not much. Satisfied an ego, perhaps.  And then you get disgusted there, and get in your SUV, and go down the highway, and look for the utility line that's got a line of doves up on that, and blast away, and maybe cut the darn utility line.  These aren't hunters.  These are something less than that. I don't think it's a mark of a true outdoorsman to shoot doves." -- Senator Harry Gast, Journal of the Senate, Thursday December 14, 2000

"This bill does nothing to improve the non-hunting public's perspective of hunting.  In fact it casts hunters in a bad light and is damaging to their image.  The vast majority of the Michigan public views the mourning dove as a songbird, not a target for hunting.  Mourning doves are enjoyed by millions of residents in their backyards. Just because these birds are hunted elsewhere is no reason for them to be hunted in Michigan.  According to a public opinion survey by EPIC/MRA, a majority of the State's residents, including 54% of hunters surveyed, opposed the hunting of mourning doves.  There are plenty of other species for hunters to shoot in Michigan." -- Representative Clarence Phillips [D-29], House Journal, December 2004

"This bill does nothing to improve the non-hunting public's perspective of hunting. In fact it casts hunters in a bad light and is damaging to their image. The vast majority of the Michigan public views the mourning dove as a songbird, not a target for hunting. Mourning doves are enjoyed by millions of residents in their backyards. Just because these birds are hunted elsewhere is no reason for them to be hunted in Michigan. According to a public opinion survey by EPIC/MRA, a majority of the State's residents, including 54% of hunters surveyed, opposed the hunting of mourning doves. There are plenty of other species for hunters to shoot in Michigan." -- Representative Phillips [D-29], House Journal, June 8, 2004

"Rob Sexton, vice president of government affairs for the [Ohio] U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, said last week that a recent alliance poll in Michigan showed that about 60 percent of the public and more than 50 percent of hunters are opposed to continuing Michigan's dove season, which faces a voter referendum in November." -- The Flint Journal, March 2, 2006

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