The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1922-08-28
DOVE SHOOTING WILL
BEGIN SEPTEMBER 1.
Richardson Gives Data on Efforts to
Assist Hunters in this State
Two Different Laws.

Dove shooting in South Carolina
will begin September 1'this year, &C
cording to a ruling of A. A. Richard
son, chief game warden, who has
reached an agreement with the fed
eral authorities for this date and
also under the federal migratory bird
treaty act Mr.. Richardson will allow
shooting to begin on this date.
In reply to a letter of H. G. Holley
of Aiken, the chief warden outlines
his position and explains his ruling.
His letter follows:
81 beg to acknowledge receipt of
your letter of July "a, in re open
season for doves.
81 can readily understand and re-
cognize your claim as to doves being
a non-migratory bird, yet by an act
of congress they have been made
migratory and any n killing them
in violation of the federal law will
suffer.
81 have made the ruling that the
dove season will open September 1,
and, in doing 50, made this ruling
for the benefit Of the dove hunters
of South Carolina.
Last year, under the state law,
a person could begin shooting doves
on August Is, and at the same time
the federal authorities had the right
to arrest such a hunter who killed
doves prior to October 16. After a
great deal of correspondence and
personal interviews with the author
tiles in Washington, I got them to
agree to let the dove season open
September l, with the understand
ing that / would ISL my influence
to have the state law conform to the
federal law and open September 1.
"The code commissioner, in the
code of laws of South Carolina, 1922
Volume II, sets forth under Section
54S that the open season for doves
shall be from October Is to January
81 of each year. This code, having
been adopted by the legislature, this
law would %supersede all other laws
and my hands would be tied were it
not for the fact that in the same
code, under Section $50, the COM
missioner sets forth that the feder-
al migratory bird treaty regulations,
being the supreme law of the land
under Article vi of the constitution
of the United States, are hereby de-
clared to be the law of this state,
and the penalty for their violation
shall be punishment of not less than
$40 nor more than S25 fine, or 80
days imprisonment
"You will, therefore, see that, as
head of this department., it is option
al with me which section of the 1922
code shall govern dove hunting; and
for the best interest of all parties
concerned, l have ruled that Section
$50 will cover the dove situation and
said season for shooting doves in
South Carolina will open September
1 and close December Is.
"In Georgia and some of the other
Southern states the dove season does
not open until November 20, and in
many other states of the union there
is no open season at all. You will,
therefore, see that we have much to
be thankful for along this line.
"a. A. Richardson,
"Chief Game Warden"
The open season for all game birds
and animals in the state is as fol-
lows:
Deer, bucks only, September l.;
bear, mink, muskrats, opossums, Of
ter, rabbits, r~accoons, skunks and
squirrels, October l; fox, September
L; blackbirds, October 1; wild tur-
key, Thanksgiving day; doves Sep
TENDER /; wood or summer ducks,
no open season; migratory ducks,
%coots, snipes and gallinules, Novem-
Der /; rails and march hens, Sep
TENDER 1; plover and yellow legs,
September l; woodcock, November