Oregon Extremists’ Fail to Put Hunting and Fishing Ban on State’s November Ballot

A dangerous attempt to criminalize hunting, fishing and a number of other animal-related activities in Oregon has screeched to a halt—at least for the time being—as animal rights extremists failed once again to gather the necessary number of valid voter signatures to qualify their petition for the November ballot.

As we reported three years ago in July 2021, extremists began by filing Initiative Petition 13 (IP 13)—known as the “Abuse, Neglect and Assault Exemption Modification and Improvement Act to amend Chapter 167 of the Oregon Revised Statutes”—that would have banned and criminalized all hunting, fishing, trapping and regulated animal husbandry and farming practices under the state’s animal cruelty laws if approved by a vote of the people. The “End Animal Cruelty” campaign failed to gather the necessary 112,020 signatures to qualify for the 2022 November ballot, where Oregon voters would have decided the fate of hunting and fishing in the state. The National Rifle Association and its partner sportsmen’s organizations fought against IP 13 and continued to fight as extremists attempted to get the latest version of their proposal—IP 3—on the ballot this November.

“The NRA joined with our partners in the sportsmen’s community and other allies to proactively oppose IP 13,” said Aoibheann Cline, NRA's Oregon state director. “The success of that led to the withdrawal of IP 13 from consideration on the 2022 ballot, but that doesn’t mean that hunters, anglers and others in Oregon are out of the woods. Proponents filed a similar ballot initiative—this time named IP 3—for the 2024 election.”

IP 3 was even more far-reaching than the original proposal. The new initiative kept everything from IP 13 and added changes in additional sections within the state animal abuse statutes. As of July 1, IP 3 failed to qualify for the 2024 ballot so extremist proponents have filed yet another similar initiative—IP 28—titled the “People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE) Act” for the 2026 general election. Proponents must collect 117,173 signatures of registered voters before July 2026. Oregon residents should decline to sign this initiative petition if asked to do so, and inform friends and family to do the same.

Sportsmen aren’t the only ones in the crosshairs of these initiatives as they also would have banned a number of common agricultural practices. Activities that would have been prohibited under the proposal include:

• Legal, regulated hunting, fishing and trapping;
• Wildlife management practices under color of law (the “appearance” of right);
• The handling of livestock being transported by owner or common carrier;
• Animals involved in rodeos or similar exhibitions;
• Commercially grown poultry;
• Animals subject to good animal husbandry practices;
• The killing of livestock according to the provisions of ORS 603.065 (slaughter methods);
• Animals subject to good veterinary practices as described in ORS 686.030 (acts constituting practice of veterinary medicine);
• Lawful scientific or agricultural research or teaching that involves the use of animals;
• Reasonable activities undertaken in connection with the control of vermin or pest; and
• Reasonable animal handling and training techniques.

Under the proposed law, hunting and fishing would be considered animal abuse, a Class A misdemeanor. Under Oregon law, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to 364 days in jail, a fine up to $6,250 or both. The lone exception for “harming” an animal would have been self-defense against an animal presenting an “apparent threat of immediate violence.”

The NRA will continue to stand up for its members and fight to protect hunting in Oregon.

“It is critical that all hunters and firearm owners in Oregon remain informed on the ballot initiative process and the detrimental impacts these disguised attempts would have on our way of life. We’re prepared to defeat this effort again in 2026,” said NRA’s Cline.

About the Author
Cody McLaughlin is an outdoor writer, conservationist and hunting advocate based in Alaska. He recently launched Trout Stream Studios as an executive producer for podcasts and livestreams in the hunting and veterans’ affairs spaces, including for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s “The Sportsmen’s Voice”and “Blood Origins” podcasts and the Veterans’ Affairs Administration’s National Center for PTSD. McLaughlin serves on the board of the Alaska Outdoor Council, the Last Frontier’s State NRA affiliate, and is a former board member and lead spokesman of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance.