By Tiffani Ireland

(Article ran in The Advertiser, front page, August 24)

Dove limits are changing across the state for the 2016 hunting season.  Hunters were able to harvest 15 doves per day in previous seasons.  However, now only 12 doves a day will be allowed to be harvested.  These new limits will be in effect when dove season opens at noon on Saturday, Sept. 3.

These changes were made by the board of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and not the SC legislature.  The Advertiser was contacted about these changes by State Rep. Bill Hixon as we were about to go to press.  This is a change with which Hixon, Chairman of the House’s Wildlife Sub-Committee, was uninvolved in making and of which he was unaware until this past Sunday.  Hixon, who is not in favor of the change in limits, said, “This was not done by my committee.” In fact, it was evident from our interview that Hixon is not happy with these changes, particularly in regards to how they came about.  However, he said that because this was done at such a “late hour”, there ware many hunters who are unaware of the change.  As such, Hixon said, “I’m trying to let everybody know.”

(A full story updating The Advertiser’s interview with Hixon can be found in the print edition this week, August 31, and on line, thereafter.)