fletch, doves are portrayed in the bible as a bird of peace, people feed them at their feeders in town, and the state would not benefit financially from opening up a dove season. These are probably the reasons behind the decision.
Not even close to being true, the bill was passed by the legislation and then vetoed by one guy, Governer Vilsack.HSUS was involved in getting the season shot down and remain involved to this day to make sure the new Governer doesnt pass a season.
Iowa doesn't need a mourning dove hunting season (Globe Gazette Editorial)
Let’s stop this one dead in its tracks — or in flight, if you will.
Comes word from the Humane Society of the United States about renewed concern over a possible mourning dove hunting season in Iowa.
Our insiders in Des Moines tell us they haven’t heard of such talk. But the Humane Society says Gov. Chet Culver has signaled his support for dove hunting.
“There is a real threat that Iowa legislators will try once again to pass a dove hunting bill this year,” the Humane Society wrote in a letter to the Globe Gazette.
http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2007/01/23/opinion/doc45b595a21bded261572760.txt
Mourning Dove Facts To Consider
* Mourning doves are not endangered. In fact, there are approximately 500 million doves in the United States. Each pair of adult doves produces six to eight young per year; therefore, the total dove population fluctuates little from year to year, whether they are hunted in a particular state or not.
* The normal life expectancy of a mourning dove is approximately one year. Most mourning doves that migrate south for the winter never live to return the next spring because they die of natural causes (although people mistakenly think the same doves are at their backyard bird feeder year after year).
* License fees paid by dove hunters are used for the conservation and protection of the environment in which all wildlife in the state lives.
* Mourning doves are an annually renewable natural resource.
* Mourning doves are the most popular game bird in North America. Minnesota's population of doves is between 10-12 million birds.
* The natural mortality rate of doves is about 55 to 60 percent each year, whether hunted or not. For juvenile birds, natural mortality may be as high as 75 percent.
* Mourning dove seasons are backed by sound biological data. Professional wildlife biologists throughout the country collect this data and continually do research on mourning doves as well as many other wildlife species.
* Research has shown that there is little movement between rural and urban mourning dove populations. Hunting has little impact on the number of birds in urban and suburban areas where people enjoy watching them at bird feeders.