by The NRA just sent out this release thanking Governor Terry Bransted for signing the bill the allows dove hunting in the state of Iowa. With all their grain fields, I’d wager that Iowa will be a great place for this!
Dove Hunting Ban Lifted in Iowa
Fairfax, Va. – Today, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed legislation into law authorizing a mourning dove hunting season. This National Rifle Association-backed legislation passed both houses of the state legislature with broad bi-partisan support despite the heavy opposition of anti-hunting groups such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). With this historic expansion of hunter opportunity, the Governor has further exemplified his steadfast commitment to sportsmen and gun owners.
“The time has come that Iowa’s hunters are afforded the same hunting opportunities as hunters in all six of its border states,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Because of dove hunting, millions of additional dollars will now go to fund wildlife and habitat conservation in Iowa and thousands of new hunters will be recruited to the state’s fields and forests.”
Originally sponsored by state Senator Dick Dearden (D-34), and managed on the House floor by Representative Rich Arnold (R-72), SF 464 authorizes the Natural Resource Commission to add Iowa to the list of 40 other states whose conservation and local economies are benefited by recognizing this type of hunting. Doves are the most popular and abundant game bird hunted in America and there is no biological justification to continue to deny Iowans the right to hunt them if they choose to do so.
”On behalf of NRA’s 4 million members, I’d like to thank Gov. Branstad and the legislative supporters of this important bill for ensuring scientific wildlife management trumped the emotion of the opposition,” concluded Cox. “Resurrecting dove hunting in Iowa is a great step in continuing to preserve Iowa’s proud hunting heritage.”
Thanks to Rachel Parsons of the NRA for sending me this.
