It is becoming a full-time job keeping up with the misinformation distributed by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
On March 24, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad signed NRA-backed legislation allowing the state to hold mourning dove hunting for the first time in nearly a century.
The day before, when the Iowa Legislature sent the bill to the governor, HSUS issued the following statement:
“We are disappointed that the Iowa Senate and House of Representatives have voted to allow the target shooting of mourning doves for the first time since 1918,” said Carol Griglione, Iowa state director for The Humane Society of the United States. “This bill repeals nearly a century of dove protection policy in our state, yet lawmakers rushed it through the process with hardly a word of debate or a serious vetting of the issues. Doves are not overpopulated, there is very little meat on their bodies, and there is no management rationale for a new hunting season – they will simply be shot for target practice. We urge Governor Branstad to veto this bill and keep the century-long tradition of dove protection in Iowa.”
There is an outright lie or a meaningless argument in every sentence of this statement, not to mention omission of facts that anyone who really cares about wildlife would want to know.
Lie # 1: Use of the terms “target shooting” and “target practice.”
Hunting is not target shooting-practically or legally. In fact, Iowa law specifically prohibits “target shooting of game species” under two regulations, both carrying fines, surcharges and court costs. Shooting doves for “target practice” would amount to illegal wanton waste, something ethical hunters abhor.
Lie # 2: “Lawmakers rushed it through the process…”
Baloney. The “process” and debate have been going on since 1918, the year dove hunting was banned. Hunters have been objecting ever since. Gov. Branstad recently told radioiowa.com, “I also was a state representative in 1973 when we brought the dove bill out of committee. I got more hate mail on that issue than anything else.” Moreover, the state Legislature passed a bill to allow dove hunting in 2001, but the governor vetoed it. If the ban has been opposed since 1918, and written and debated in the legislature since at least 1973, how much more “process” do we really need?
Meaningless Argument #1: “…there is very little meat on their bodies.”
Many game fish and birds might subjectively be considered “small” by some, but that doesn’t mean they don’t provide healthy meals for millions. Plenty of foods Americans love are small, from woodcock and quail to sardines and chicken McNuggets. And dove breast wrapped in bacon is well-known delicacy. HSUS would use this irrelevant statement to oppose not just dove hunting, but all small game hunting.
Meaningless Argument #2: Doves are not overpopulated.
No, they aren’t–and one of the reasons is that they are the most commonly hunted game bird in America. How many would there be without hunting? There are an estimated 350 million doves in the United States, according to the report, Mourning Dove Population Status 2010 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The total annual hunter harvest is between 5 and 10 percent of the population. Study after study has failed to show hunting has any detrimental impact on dove populations, even considering liberal bag limits. Doves have high mortality rates from disease, predation and weather, but even these factors don’t offset their high reproductive rates.
Lie #3: “There is no management rationale for a new hunting season.”
Then why do the game and fish departments of 40 states support it? One rationale is that game management in this country is virtually all funded by hunters and fisherman. A new season means more people hunting, providing more funding for wildlife conservation. Hunting is the foundation of wildlife conservation in this country, and that model applies to doves the same as it does deer and wild turkeys.
Major Omission #1: With a hunting season open for doves, the Iowa DNR will likely undertake dove habitat projects. Anyone who really cares about wildlife might want to know that habitat work benefits many other birds and animals in addition to the priority species. If HSUS really cared about birds, they’d tell you that dove management practices benefit everything from bobwhite quail to the yellow-rumped warbler. Foxes, rabbits and other mammals benefit, too.
Major Omission #2: HSUS constantly ignores the economic benefits of hunting. The Iowa DNR estimates dove hunters would contribute $6.9 million to the state’s economy and generate $462,000 in state sales tax revenue.
While no hunter will be surprised at HSUS’s statements, it’s important that we don’t get complacent about refuting them just because they are predictable. HSUS is intensifying its attempts to reach our children through so-called “educational” outreach to our school system. It’s bad enough that so many adults believe what HSUS says. It is horrible to think how they might affect our kids.
