Audio Mourning dove hunt begins in Wisconsin (story audio) Photos Mourning dove Resources Wisconsin DNR: Mourning dove hunt Wisconsin Dove Hunters Wisconsin Citizens Concerned for Cranes and Doves: opposed to hunt Minnesota Dove Hunters Your Voice Join the conversation with other MPR listeners in the News Forum.

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Mourning dove hunt begins in Wisconsin
September 2, 2003

Mourning doves are the most popular game bird in North America. Now that Wisconsin has established a dove hunting season, Minnesota hunters hope to do the same. (Photo courtesy of Huntington College, Indiana)

St. Paul, Minn. — Wisconsin finally opened its mourning dove hunting season Monday, for the first time since 1918.

The season was first approved two years ago by the state Natural Resources Board., But animal protection groups successfully sued to stop the hunt, and ended up delaying it for two years.

An appeals court overturned that ruling earlier this year, allowing the hunting season to begin. That decision has also been appealed, but neither the Wisconsin Supreme Court nor Gov. Jim Doyle stepped in to delay the start of the 60-day hunt this fall.

The Wisconsin Legislature took the mourning dove off the list of game species when it named the bird the state symbol of peace in 1971. That designation was made at the urging of animal rights activists.

Hunters in Minnesota have been trying to establish a similar mourning dove season, so far without success. But they say the establishment of the hunt in Wisconsin bodes well for their efforts in Minnesota.

The mourning dove is the most popular game bird in North America, and 39 other states already permit mourning doves to be hunted.

Each year, roughly 25 million doves (approximately 10 percent of the population) are harvested in the United States -- more than the total annual harvest of ducks and pheasants.

In Wisconsin, about five million mourning doves migrate from the state each fall. In Minnesota, that number is estimated at 12 million. Those estimates come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Keith Warnke was among those hunting doves Monday. He is a wildlife ecologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and spoke with All Things Considered host David Molpus about the new season.

To listen to their interview, choose the audio link in the right column.

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