Successful Capture and Relocation of Mourning Doves: A Multi-Agency Endeavor

Capture and relocation has been successfully used for decades as a means of wildlife damage control. USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services (WS), Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the University of Missouri Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences (MU) were involved in a collaborative project which produced benefits for the cooperator, and all agencies involved. At an industrial site located in northern Kansas City, mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) droppings accumulated under the roosting area. In addition to being unsanitary, the droppings also ran the risk of causing equipment to malfunction in a secondary chemical containment system. Benefits of our interagency capture and relocation program included a non-lethal solution to resolve the wildlife problem, positive public relations opportunities for the cooperator and provided data to a long-term mourning dove banding study. Mourning doves were trapped, banded, and relocated from an industrial area in eastern Kansas City, Missouri. The banded doves were released 31.4 km to the southeast (153°) at the James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife Area (JARMWA), near Lee\u27s Summit, Missouri. We captured and relocated 566 (499 hatching year, 36 after hatching year and 31 unknown age) doves from July 12 to August 11. During that period there were no recaptures at the problem roost site, however birds were recaptured at the JARMWA at a rate similar to that of birds captured at the release site (3% JARMWA; 4% industrial site). During the opening 2 days of mourning dove hunting season birds released on the JARMWA from the industrial area were harvested at a slightly lower rate than birds caught and released on JARMWA (18% industrial site and 23% JARMWA). Results from our study indicate that capture and relocation of problem mourning doves can be successfully completed