It is hunting season in Iowa. However, there is a movement to legalize hunting of another animal —ÿthis time it is the mourning dove.

The mourning dove, cousin to the pigeon, has been protected from hunting in Iowa since 1918. Now there is a movement that believes the protection of the bird should be lifted and hunters should be able to kill the bird.

With the help of a small hunting community, the problem will face the Iowa legislature this January.

In the past, legislation regarding the legalization of hunting the doves has been defeated.

Proponents of the movement say hunting the bird is fun and inexpensive. They also say the bird is good eating. How can the bird be good eating if, according to Michael Markarian, director of campaigns and media for The Fund for Animals, Inc. and advocate against the hunting of the mourning dove, the bird only yields two ounces of meat?

Hunters would have to shoot five or six birds just to obtain a decent meal for themselves. It makes no sense. Obviously, hunting the bird is simply a way in which hunters can practice target shooting.

Markatian and Wayne Parcelle, vice president of the Humane Society, believe there is not one practical reason why the bird should be hunted.

According to Pacelle, the mourning dove causes “trouble to no one; in fact, they are an aid to farmers.”

The bird is known to feed on weed seeds, which can lessen the use of herbicides by farmers. Because the mourning dove is a natural means of weed control, why would we as a society want to aid in reducing or eliminating them from nature?

Is this case, the benefits of the mourning dove simply outweigh the desires of a small group of hunters.