Despite the fact that primary season and a new governor should mean there's a lot of political debate here in Iowa, it seems that the mourning dove has become a lightening rod, combining earlier arguments over dove hunting with the lead/non-toxic shot issue and concerns over the political process.
Which are valid issues, but it seems to me that a DNR forum on implementation of a season is the wrong place to scream about them, especially in such an ugly fashion. If there are concerns about the way the bill was passed, then correct thing to do is publicize your discontent and use your power at the ballot box, not gate-crash a policy discussion with political issues that the DNR couldn't do much about even if it wanted to.
Legislative maneuvers aside, the three biggest problems facing dove hunters are all misconceptions: First, that the mourning dove is the same dove that's a symbol of peace; second, that a 15-a-day limit is some sort of wholesale slaughter, and third, that there's no meat on the birds. None of these things are true.
Here's hoping for smoother sailing for dove hunters in Iowa.
