I was asked to sign a dove hunting petition today

[badshotbob]

A coworker asked me if I would sign a petition to put dove hunting on the Michigan ballot in the future to let the general population decide on the fait of dove hunting. This girl is a vegetarian, realizes I am a hard core hunter and patriot, and respects the need to manage wild life through the sport of hunting. What she disagrees with is killing animals for target practice and not to be eaten. I of course respectfully declined signing her petition, but not without a friendly debate. My convictions were not understood or agreed with. I stated that while I don't and would not hunt doves just for the sport of killing for target practice, I am completely against taking any rights away from anyone, particularly a group of people that for the most part understand and support our God given and Constitutional rights. Quite simply I stated that the slight erosion of rights leads to eventual slavery or non-rights. People just do not understand this concept and only think of their micro agendas - even people such as this girl that aren't really completely against hunting. This same concept of rights can be applied to almost anything we do here in this, for the most part, free country. I used baiting as an example, a subject she is not for or against. Here in MI, certain counties have a full ban on baiting. The rest of the state is limited to 2 gallons of bait spread over a 100sf area at any given time. Years ago it was unlimited baiting. Is this for the good of the herd, or just a simple small unseen step in the eventual ban on hunting and gun ownership altogether? Same applied to banning dove hunting. She of course, did not agree.

What do you think? Should we have the right to hunt even if we do not eat the game? If you do not hunt dove and could care less either way if it's legal or not, do you see it as an encroachment on our rights to ban any kind of hunting? (Within limits obviously - I'm not suggesting an open season on bald eagles for example.)

[frizzellr]

I don't see many folks eating crow, groundhog, prairie dogs or coyotes but I believe in the right and the need to hunt them. Most dove hunters I know eat their kills. Dove is some seriously good eats fried up with some rice and gravy. I think anytime we lose the right to hunt one species it is a stepping stone to lose the right to hunt altogether.

[WANWTF]

Dove breast is really good. I don't understand why you would hunt them just to shoot them - kind of a waste I think... but I think frizzellr has a point - won't eat crow, prarie dog ect. but I don't mind people hunting them.

[Aught Six]

I don't believe it matters one bit whether or not a hunter eats his/her kill. Personal ethics regarding use of a harvest are just that--personal. I don't believe than anyone has the authority to dictate how hunters use the animals they take.

As long as the population and density of the species are healthy, there should be no bans whatsoever. I strongly feel that, in most cases, one ban is the precursor of more to come. Consider how many hunting bans are advocated by hunters themselves, as opposed to antis.

[Coastie]

Dove hunting is one of those topics guaranteed to get a rise from the anti crowd. Doves have been considered a "Song Bird" in many states for generations in spite of the fact that in many other regions they are truly a game bird. Facts do not sway those set against Dove hunting anymore than they can change their opinions of hunting in general. As for hunting non-game species, or "should we have the right to hunt even if we do not eat the game?" I say yes. There are any number of nuisance species which should be hunted in order to control the populations and decrease the damage done by them. Groundhogs, Crows (BTW go to www.crowbusters.com for some really good Crow recipes) Armadillos, English Sparrows, Beaver, etc.

That then brings up the "Ethics" of trapping Mice and Rats and other vermin. We don't eat them, yet we trap and poison them every day. What is the difference? That we don't "Have fun" getting rid of them or that we don't shoot them? Or is it that they aren't "Pretty" and don't have a good press agent. Left to the devices of the antis, the only thing in this world not defended would be people.

[etothepii]

What she disagrees with is killing animals for target practice and not to be eaten.

I've eaten dove breast, and it was outstanding. The only problem is that they are like buffalo wings...you have to eat a ton of them!!!

[kevin1]

ORIGINAL: frizzellr

I don't see many folks eating crow, groundhog, prairie dogs or coyotes but I believe in the right and the need to hunt them. Most dove hunters I know eat their kills. Dove is some seriously good eats fried up with some rice and gravy. I think anytime we lose the right to hunt one species it is a stepping stone to lose the right to hunt altogether.

I think this says it all .

[etothepii]

Dove is some seriously good eats fried up with some rice and gravy.

Try laying them in a pan, cover them about half way with your favorite BBQ sauce, and bake them. Baste them frequently so the tops of the breasts don't dry out. They are great that way!

[Alsatian]

badshotbob:

It seems to be an accepted principle of law that game animals do not belong to landowners but to the state. This being the case, it follows that the state can regulate the disposition of their property. It seems to be perfectly sensible to me that the state would require that maximum benefit be extracted from their property -- meaning, both the experience of shooting the dove on the wing AND the harvesting of the meat for eating. This can be viewed as managing common assets to the maximum benefit of the members of the state.

As far as rights, I think you are confusing rights to keep and bear arms with the right to hunt. Hunting almost immediately gets into the area of property rights where you have competition among rights. Do you have a right to hunt? If so, do you have a right to hunt on another person's property if they themselves don't hunt it and neither does anyone else? What if this person is never on their property, makes no use of the property?

[Tazman]

When I was younger I hunted anything that was legal, anything that was in my book edible was eaten, I have killed a ton of ground hog, crows & starlings in my life as vermin though, even a few racoon, one rabid and the other refused to stay out of my trash!!! Now if I am not going to eat it, it lives another day, well unless it is a starling or crow in my back yard.