Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
A proposal that could effectively ban hunting, fishing, slaughterhouses, and many forms of animal testing in Oregon just took a big step toward the November ballot.
According to KATU, supporters of Initiative Petition 28, also known as the PEACE Act, say they submitted roughly 140,000 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. That does not automatically put the measure on the ballot. The state still has to verify the signatures, and officials have until Aug. 2 to decide whether the petition qualifies for the November general election.
Still, for hunters, anglers, ranchers, seafood restaurants, and anyone who enjoys eating something that once had a pulse, this one is worth watching.
KATU described the proposal as a “controversial proposal to ban hunting and fishing” and reported that the campaign has now come closer than it did in two previous attempts.
The measure would expand Oregon’s animal cruelty laws to include animals raised on farms, animals used in research, and animals living in the wild. Supporters say the goal is to extend protections beyond companion animals. Opponents say the practical effect would be massive: no hunting, no fishing, no animal slaughter, and serious consequences for agriculture and related industries.
In KATU’s report, reporter Victor Park said the proposal “could affect everything from restaurants to ranches to hunting and fishing traditions across Oregon.”
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That is not exactly a small footprint.
Supporters say that is the point. One campaign representative told KATU, “We’re asking, let’s make the default option not kill animals. So it is trying to shift all of us together.”
Opponents see something far more disruptive.
At Portland’s historic Dan & Louis Oyster Bar, owner Meinert Wachsmuth told KATU the impact would stretch well beyond seafood. He pointed to the family traditions built around hunting and fishing.
“The business implications, I’m sure those are going to be challenging,” Wachsmuth said. “I think it has more of an impact on your families hunting, fishing with their father, and it creates that bond that honestly, you can’t find.”
For the HUNT365 crowd, that line probably lands harder than the economic argument.
Yes, restaurants matter. Ranches matter. Commercial fishing matters. But so does the kid sitting in a duck blind before sunrise. So does the father teaching his daughter how to read a deer trail. So does the family that fills a freezer with elk, salmon, turkey, or venison.
Those traditions do not show up cleanly on a spreadsheet. But they matter.
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Opponents who warned the measure could “flip this state on its head.” One person in the report put it plainly: “Commercial fishing is gone. Ranching is gone. It would literally flip this state on its head. It would change everything overnight.”
Supporters of IP28 frame the measure as an animal-protection effort. The campaign’s website says the initiative would remove many current exemptions from Oregon’s animal cruelty laws, including exemptions involving animal abuse, neglect, and sexual assault statutes.
Opponents argue those exemptions currently allow lawful hunting, fishing, farming, ranching, trapping, pest control, veterinary work, and wildlife management to function without being treated as criminal abuse. Groups including the Oregon Hunters Association and Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation have warned that IP28 could effectively criminalize those activities by removing long-standing protections.
The Oregon Secretary of State’s current submission log lists IP28 under the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act and shows 117,173 signatures in the last submission, though the campaign and KATU reported roughly 140,000 total signatures turned in.
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That number matters because Oregon requires enough valid signatures before a statutory initiative can make the ballot. Campaigns often submit more than the minimum because some signatures usually get rejected during verification.
For now, the measure remains in limbo.
But hunters and anglers should not treat this like some internet fever dream. This is the campaign’s third attempt, and this time supporters say they have submitted their strongest signature total yet.
If the Secretary of State verifies enough signatures, Oregon voters could decide in November whether the PEACE Act becomes law. And if it passes, the fight over hunting, fishing, farming, and animal use in Oregon would move from theory to reality fast.
As KATU’s anchor put it after the report: “We will see what happens there. It’ll be really interesting if that makes it on the ballot.”
That is one way to say it.
For Oregon’s hunters, anglers, ranchers, seafood workers, and everyone who still believes wild food belongs on the table, “interesting” might be underselling it.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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Referendums are one of the greatest threats to our Republic. Note that there is no legal mechanism to place a national referendum on the ballot in the United States. The U.S. Constitution does not provide a process for citizen-initiated national voting or federal referendums. Referendums are a form of Direct Public Democracy which is a threat to all minorities and Representative Republics like America has.
Oregonians that initiate or support this bill are ludicrous and ridiculous. You are vetoing generations and heritage that date back to the days of Lewis and Clark. The days of the Native American, as well as, the generations that roamed the mountains that not only paved the way of society today, but help preserve our great outdoors. I would guess you individuals that support this bill, probably have not nor will ever fight for your country. The very country you take advantage of. The very country my father, a veteran, an Oregonian, and a hunter that spent countless hours with is his me making incredible memories teaching me how to be a survivor, a provider and a protector.
You should consider moving to a foreign destination, where you can share your ridiculous beliefs and be a hero on social media. You are unethical and unconstitutional. You didn’t create this beautiful world, nor will you destroy it.
I suppose they also plan to ban mouse/rat traps, bug spray & exterminators. Looks like the California plague has spread North.
Tyranny over our Constitutional Rights whether by the majority or the minority, is still tyranny🤨
The inmates are running the asylum. Wait until the animals are starving from overpopulation and dying on their doorstep. So these tree huggers would rather see wildlife starve and die of an epidemic disease than be humanely harvested and utilized? Any dollars from ammunition, firearms, sporting goods, and license sales should go away. No federal dollars should subsidise this insanity. These people are nuts.
Also, no Oregon eggs or dairy. No producer is going to provide those without a way of being able to cull animals that are no longer productive.
yes the state that legalizes drugs are actually on those drugs, they are communist democrats, that think they are kings, with “rules and laws for thee, but not for me”, that do not believe “all men are created equal”, that are Godless supporters of the iranian death cult, they hate Donald Trump so much they eat their own feces, claiming illegal border insurgents are emigrants, using stolen money from American taxpayers for their own purposes, committing fraud, weaponizing illegal border insurgents with CDL truck driving licenses, that have a record of killing Americans just to name a few; Lizbeth Medina, Anya Varfolomeev, Nikolay Osokin, Dacara Thompson, Nate Baker, Laken Riley, Fletcher Harris, Skylar Provenza, Ivory Smith, Alex Wise Jr, Katie Abraham, Jocelyn Nungaray, Jennifer Ann Morton, and possibly more….democrats are liars, hate Americans, aiding and abetting illegal border insurgents, trans gender groomers, pedophiles, antifa, drug cartels, human trafficking, murderers, rapists, money launderers, defunding police, defunding ICE, defunding TSA, and supports communists to destroy America, therefore voting for any democrat for any office is a vote to destroy America. Period!
Remember:
Only the really stupid, and illegal fake voter ballots, vote for this bunch.
Wow…just think…no more hamburgers no more steak no more ribs on the grill…you don’t really think this is just about hunting/fishing do ya.Anti farming/ranching too.. No more lettuce or spinacj beans etc…that’s all alive too… .Oh any tribal hunting and fishing in Oregon??…GOT TO INCLUDE THEM TOO!! Oh you say that is how they historically lived??? So did my people…been here longer than these anti hunting fishing eating animals people. My family has been here since the mid 1650s…my wife had predecessors on the freaking Mayflower…really…How did they live??…off the land you say?? I own my land I will damn sure hunt on it and they can stand on the road and watch!
If this thing passes, watch your own a?? because it could trigger the same in other places where big cities are kings or …queens. I am breathless realizing Oregon is becoming worse than California in the stupidity level and denying what real life is all about.
This is in relation to the Oregon hunting and fishing ban. This nonsense has gone to far . My suggestion to people that reside in the Communist state of Oregon is to move. If you decide not to move go to the lawmakers and drag these treasonous Communist out in the street and teach them a lesson ! This is public duty as an American !
WHY do you not tell us WHO these fools are? Hey, if they want to do something like this, we have a right to know who they are and who is backing them.