tensor eUEUP UL bLOmNe BUS GEE ION 11 
Death of the Dove Bill 
An Editorial 
ORDINARILY, YOUR EDITOR does not write editorials for the Bulletin, prefer- 
ring to let the articles and stories speak for themselves. Ordinarily, also, 
members of the I.A.S. would be forewarned of a piece of legislation as im- 
portant as a proposal to remove Mourning Doves from the list of hunted 
birds in Illinois, and would not be told of the bill after it had been killed. 
But unfortunately, all this has taken place, and your Editor feels that some 
explanation is due to the members, as well as some expression of your 
Editor’s personal feelings on the matter. Here is the story: 
State Senator Jackson L. Boughner of Palatine, Illinois is a lawyer who 
enjoys nature during the few moments he has to spare for the out-of-doors. 
Acting pretty much on his own initiative, he introduced Senate Bill 644 in 
the Legislature, proposing that Mourning Doves be removed from the hunt- 
ing list in Illinois. The bill was not widely publicized to nature groups; it 
came to the attention of your Editor only a few weeks before its demise. 
_. Except for the Illinois Committee for Wildlife, headed by Mrs. Pearl Mc- 
Nair, Secretary, 518 W. Walnut Street, St. Charles, Ill., very little was 
done in the way of an organized campaign to support the bill. Mrs. N. S. 
Dorosheff of Springfield headed a group that tried to reach the legislators 
in the Capitol, but again it was “too little, too few.” However, Senator 
Boughner did obtain sponsorship of twenty-nine State Senators, which 
would have been a majority if the bill had come out on the floor. 
On the other side, the hunting interests were well-informed, and apparent- 
ly were able to organize the support they needed. Our Department of Con- 
servation, which is subservient to the hunting and fishing groups in this 
state (although non-hunters outnumber the hunters 8 to 1), opposed the bill 
— another example of a public bureau working against the wildlife it sup- 
posedly should protect. With this opposition, there was little hope for the 
Dove bill, which did not even reach the Senate: it was voted out of existence 
in the Conservation Committee, eight to three, on May 22, 1957. 
The I.A.S. board of directors was told of the impending vote in Rockford 
four days previously, at the Annual Meeting. Since it was obviously too 
late to gather adequate support for the bill, and since it was rumored that, 
if the I.A.S. supported the Dove bill, the hunting groups would withdraw 
their support of the Hawk and Owl bill, the board voted to take no action. 
Your Editor did not share in this vote, and is opposed to this decision. 
This Society should not be forced to sacrifice one species of bird for the 
benefit of other species. The I.A.S. is pledged to defend all song birds. It 
should be a leader in promoting bird legislation, not a follower. Hawks and 
Owls should be protected in Illinois, and apparently they will be if the 
Legislature acts on that bill before this session ends. But Doves should be 
protected also. The Mourning Dove is not a game bird; it raises only a few 
young per brood; it eats countless insects and weed seeds, benefiting the 
farmer; it provides no more meat than a Robin; it nests late in the summer, 
and often nestlings die when the parent birds are shot in September. 
