New York Dove Hunting's mission is to inform

policy makers about dove hunting, build political

support for dove hunting, engage & organize aspiring
dove hunters and encourage ethical hunting
attitudes and behaviors.

THE POSSIBILITY OF HUNTING MOURNING

DOVES IN NEW YORK

Only nine states do not allow mourning dove

hunting. New York is one.
Mourning Dove hunting was banned in many
states in the early 1900s mainly in the northern
US states. Over the last 30 years, those bans
have been reversed in all but nine states.
These reversals are in part due to the
expanded distribution of mourning doves which
unlike most species do well in habitats altered
by people. Building and industrial farming favor

mourning doves; however so does

permaculture, reduced till agriculture, and
restoration of riparian habitats. All of which,
both good and bad are on the rise and here to
stay.
Every state which succeeded in repealing the
ban and reinstating a mourning dove hunting
season endured a difficult battle waged by
animal rights organizations.
The state of NY has had several dove bills
introduced into the legislature over the years;
however not one time have the bills been
moved forward for a vote among the
lawmakers.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DOVE HUNTING IN

NEW YORK?

Dove hunting is popular where it is allowed.

Dove hunting will boost conservation funding.
By making hunting opportunities available to a
broader public, it will also sustain conservation
funding.
Dove hunting will boost general economic
activity.
Dove hunting has cultural value and provides
food and recreation.
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Dove hunting can provide hunting opportunities

for those with limited mobility.

WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES TO DOVE HUNTING

IN NEW YORK?

Mourning Doves are a fully protected species

in New York. They are a game species in 42
states, of which regulated hunting is allowed in
41, the exception being the state of NJ. Each
state has secondary management authority
with respect to migratory birds. Since mourning
doves are a migratory bird; the primary
management responsibility belongs to the US
Fish and Wildlife Service. The USFWS
considers the mourning dove a game species.
Anti-hunting organizations object and have
strong influence with some politicians.
Legislative approval is required to re-classify
the mourning dove as a game species and
reinstate a hunting season.
Use of lead shot in dove hunting is a source of
considerable lead accumulation when 3
elements occur: the culture of using lead shot
exists, there are no restrictions mandating the
use of non-lead ammunition, and the practice
of creating public dove fields which concentrate
both doves and hunters resulting in an
unusually high amount of spent lead shot in a
relative small area.

WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF

DOVE HUNTING

Potential lead accumulation in the landscape

when lead shot is used in conjunction with
managed public dove fields.
Mourning Dove is a fecund species that has
expanded its range dramatically. There is no
conservation concern for this species.

Discussion:
If you are an aspiring wildlife biologist or technician,
you might be concerned about the budget of state
wildlife agencies. If you already work for a
government agency you STILL might be concerned
about budget shortfalls. Dove hunting will boost and
sustain conservation funds. The amount of funding
opportunity that has been already lost among various
states over many years, because of ideologies that
oppose dove hunting, as well as Sunday hunting is
substantial. Going forward into the future, given the
stability of mourning dove populations; continuing to
ignore, rationalize, or trivialize this lost conservation
funding opportunity is irresponsible. For how long
should an ideology continue to compromise
conservation funding without any biological
justification?
An outright ban on lead ammo is difficult,
expensive, and controversial. The state of California
recently passed a statewide ban on lead ammo. They
are slowly implementing the ban to encourage
voluntary use of alternatives.
In addition to the federal ban on lead shot for
waterfowl hunting which has been in place for
decades, several states require non-toxic shotshells
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on pheasant release sites and for mourning dove

hunting in Ontario, Canada. The state of South
Dakota requires non-lead shotgun ammo on all state
and federal public lands within the state.
The NY sporting community has speculated
that downstate lawmakers have impeded dove
legislation. However, if that was true, virtually no prohunting bills would pass. Anti-hunters have placed
opposition to dove hunting at the top of their agenda.
Despite a long-standing propaganda campaign
launched against dove hunting; the only argument
that has merit is in regard to the impact of lead
ammunition. Such being the case, if dove hunting
was proposed with the stipulation only non-toxic
ammo was allowed, it would literally take away the
only real tool anti-hunters have in the mourning dove
hunting controversy.
Restricting dove hunting to non-lead
alternatives would alarm some in the sporting
community. Many of those who are active in policypolitics, are more concerned with gun rights. A
stipulation to prohibit lead ammo for doves may be
perceived as a slippery slope conspiracy. Since
many of the politically involved are more concerned
with gun rights than hunting opportunity, they may
not care if a dove hunting season is established or
not.
Some DEC staff and others believe that dove
hunting will not generate much participation.
However, the institution of any hunting season is not
predicated by the level of participation nor revenue it
generates. It makes sense to close, modify, or
suspend a hunting season because of excessive
harvest; however it does not make sense to prohibit
hunting of one of the most resilient species due to
minimal participation. The DEC bureau of wildlife is
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by its own goals to provide sustainable recreational

use of wildlife for the enjoyment of all. Dove hunting
is consistent with that goal because of the
sustainability of dove populations and the hunting
opportunity it would provide to a broader public, such
as compromised or non-traditional hunters.
The future of hunting and thereby the
traditional funding strategy of conservation, may
depend on the growing locavore culture who are
concerned with the quality of their food and the
environment. Dove hunting and non-lead ammunition
are of particular interest to this fast growing segment
of the hunting community.
To address the lead issue, why not institute a
dove season in which the first inaugural dove season
will allow lead ammo, but future seasons dove
hunters will be limited to non-lead ammo? This would
provide an opportunity to survey hunters before and
after and create indexes to compare changes in
participation and harvest. A social study of that nature
would provide useful data about the subject of lead
shotgun ammunition, data directly related to some of
the premises given against banning lead ammo by
the hunting community.
NY Dove Hunting, The Bird Hunting Society,
and NJ Sunday Hunting for All challenge you to
examine this dilemma and propose solutions.
NY Dove Hunting Website:
www.NYDoveHunting.weebly.com

RELEVANT RESEARCH:

A Comparison of Lead and Steel Shot Loads for

Harvesting Mourning Doves
http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/nonpwdp
ubs/media/20121204_504.pdf
National Dove Hunter Survey 2013
http://www.fishwildlife.org/files/National_Dove_
Hunter_Survey_Report_7-22-14.pdf

Priority Information Needs for Mourning and

White-winged Doves - A Funding Strategy
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/NewReports
Publications/Research/WMGBMR/dove%20pri
orities%20strategy%20djcase%20FINAL%200
6-30-08.pdf

Mourning Dove National Strategic Harvest

Management Plan
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/NewReports
Publications/SpecialTopics/Mourning%20Dove
%20National%20Strategic%20Harvest%20Man
agement%20PlanSm.pdf

Mourning Dove Population Status, 2014

http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/Newreportsp
ublications/PopulationStatus/MourningDove/Mo
urning%20Dove%20Population%20Status%20
2014.pdf
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