Rally

Published Lansing State Journal 10-26-03
Monday update:Hundreds to rally at Capitol for dove hunts Speakers to talk about effort to legalize the sport

The battle over mourning doves hits the Capitol lawn again next week when more than 1,000 hunters rally for the right to shoot the small songbirds.

The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and the Michigan Hunting Rights Campaign have organized the Nov. 4 rally in the latest attempt to add the bird to the state's list of game species.

Guest speakers include Michigan native and outdoors enthusiast Ted Nugent; National Rifle Association President Kayne Robinson; and Rob Keck, chief executive officer of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

State Rep. Sue Tabor, R-Delta Township, also will speak about her bill to legalize mourning dove hunting. Her bill, introduced in August, has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

The Songbird Protection Coalition opposes the move, and has e-mailed thousands of supporters to urge their lawmakers to vote against the measure when the time comes.

Julie Baker, who co-founded the coalition to fight previous efforts by Tabor, said mourning doves are a traditional songbird and "we have a long history of protecting them."

Tabor, who says a mourning dove season would bring in much-needed sales and tax revenue from out-of-state hunters, brought home about 30 of the birds from hunting trips last month in Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. But don't expect any samples at the rally.

"I already ate them all," Tabor said. "It's like that potato chip slogan. Once you start eating them, you can't stop."

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