Vilsack says throw dove hunting issue to local voters

Governor Tom Vilsack today (Friday) made a surprising suggestion for resolving the feud over whether dove hunting should be legal in Iowa. It’s not legal today and attempts to get legislators to change the law have failed in each of the past five years. Vilsack says the debate over dove hunting is very similar to the gambling debate that’s raged in Iowa. Some oppose it on moral grounds, while others argue the state is missing out on the economic benefits of having hunters come in to the state to shoot doves. Vilsack suggests that like gambling, the issue be resolved locally — a sort of local option vote on whether dove hunting should be allowed in a county. “You know, that’s what we did with gaming,” Vilsack says. Vilsack made his comments during taping of the Iowa Public Television program, “Iowa Press.”