Syracuse.com - Hunting for doves may be on horizon for New York State

[HuntingNY-News]

Baldwinsville resident Fred Neff, who has been advocating this for more than two decades, said the mourning dove population is plentiful and that it would generate more hunters, resulting in more income from license sales and hunting-related expenses. Is it finally time for a mourning dove hunting season in this state?Senate Bill 6968, sponsored by Sen. John A. DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, could get things moving on this front.The bill would reclassify mourning doves as “migratory game birds,” allowing the state Department of Environmental Conservation to set up a dove hunting season. The bill is before the Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee.Currently, mourning doves are classified as song birds in this state. That status does not exist, however, in 40 other states, where the birds are hunted with varying bag limits.“This happens to be the most popular and hunted game bird by far in this country and South America,” said Baldwinsville resident Fred Neff, who has led the charge on this issue for more than two decades.He said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service classifies mourning doves as a migratory game species, and the Audubon Society is neutral on dove hunting.He has also lined up a number of federal and state hunting organizations to back the proposal.Neff said the mourning dove population in this state is plentiful and that an open season would generate more hunters, resulting in more income from license sales and hunting-related expenses.“It’s been a long, long fight,” Neff said. “I came from a state (Pennsylvania) where you could hunt them. I’d like to see it happen here.”

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog