With just seven days to go until their July 2 deadline, proponents of Oregon’s PEACE Act are rushing to gather enough signatures to ensure that the radical hunting and fishing ban makes the ballot. Meanwhile, the state’s politicians are running in the other direction as they try to distance themselves from the sweeping ballot initiative — a sort of animal-rights pipe dream that would turn Oregon into a “no kill or harm” sanctuary state.
Initiative Petition 28, which is a rerun of a similar measure that failed to make the ballot in both 2022 and 2024, would remove the legal exceptions that protect activities like hunting, fishing, trapping, and ranching from Oregon’s animal abuse statutes.If it were to make the ballot and if it were to pass in November, nearly one million Oregonians would become criminals.
“[This] is the ultimate goal of the animal-rights agenda. It wouldn’t just destroy hunting and fishing, it would destroy any and all uses and interactions with animals, wild or domestic,” Sportsmen’s Alliance vice president Brian Lynn told Outdoor Life in February. “In no way, shape, or form does it make any logical sense on any level to anyone with half a brain.”
The first “if” seems likely. The threshold for making the ballot is 117,173 signatures, and as of Wednesday, the campaign had already submitted more than 138,000 signatures. But Oregon’s elected leaders, including Democrats, are not waiting for the Secretary of State’s final tally before making clear where they stand in regards to IP28. With Republican lawmakers already aligned in their opposition, there is not one prominent Oregon politician who has expressed their support for such a drastic measure.
“I oppose it,” Gov. Tina Kotek, a progressive, said in a recent public statement shared to Facebook. “Criminalizing activities like hunting and fishing would be wrong for Oregon. I know tribal leaders, family farmers and ranchers, and Oregonians across the state who care deeply about protecting our land, waters, and wildlife. This petition does nothing to help them, and it risks criminalizing common agricultural practices that are critical to Oregon’s economy.”
Other left-leaning lawmakers were quick to follow suit. On June 18, all 37 Oregon House Democrats came out to publicly state their opposition to IP28.
“Criminalizing farming, ranching, hunting, and fishing is wrong,” they said in a press release, according to a local news outlet. “It threatens the livelihoods of families and communities across our state. It ignores the treaty rights of all nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon. Oregon deserves solutions that reflect our values, respect our diverse communities, and bring people together rather than divide them. For these reasons, we oppose this measure.”
The Senate co-chairs of the Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, Senators David Brock Smith (R – Port Orford) and Anthony Broadman (D – Bend), are opposed to IP28 for obvious reasons, as the criminalization of hunting and fishing (and the subsequent loss of license revenue) would cripple the state’s ability to manage and conserve its wildlife. They’ve also attacked the proposal because of the effect it would have on Oregonians who don’t hunt and fish, but who rely on farmers, ranchers, and commercial fishermen to put food on their plates.
“Buying locally raised foods at the local farmers market would be outlawed, while restaurant and grocery prices would increase substantially due to the need to ship meat and dairy products in from out of state,” Broadman said in a public statement in February. “[This] would create incredible negative impacts to Oregon’s statewide economy, causing increasing tax pressure and reduced state services for all Oregonians.”
Read Next: Animal-Rights Activists Are Attempting a Ban So Absurd That It Would Affect ‘Every Oregonian’
Politicians in other states are clearly watching this play out, and on Wednesday, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte felt the need to speak out, too. In a video post on X, the pro-hunting governor called the radical proposal “absolutely crazy” as he stood in front of a full-body goat mount.
“To all those Oregonians who want to outlaw hunting and fishing,” Gianforte pleaded, “please stay out of Montana.”
The more than 138,000 signatures that have been submitted by IP28 campaigners still need to be verified by the Secretary of State’s office. There are certain standards for these signatures, and it’s possible that some of them will be thrown out before the official signature deadline on July 2.
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