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A provocative new ballot initiative in Oregon is stirring up debate, as it seeks to redefine the boundaries of animal welfare and potentially criminalize traditional outdoor activities like hunting and fishing. This contentious proposal is edging closer to a public vote, according to state officials.
Referred to as Initiative Petition 28, the measure aims to ban the killing or causing injury to any animals, even if it’s for purposes like hunting or fishing. The initiative has successfully gathered approximately 120,000 signatures, surpassing the threshold of around 117,000 required to place it on the November ballot, as reported by The Oregonian.
Beyond targeting hunting and fishing, the proposal also seeks to outlaw practices such as slaughtering livestock, utilizing animals in rodeos, and conducting scientific research involving animals. The initiative is far-reaching, proposing restrictions on commercial poultry operations and traditional agricultural practices like castrating or neutering livestock.
Along with banning hunting and fishing, the legislation would also prohibit slaughtering livestock and using animals in rodeos and for scientific research.
It would also prohibit operating a commercial poultry business and castrating or neutering livestock, among other practices.
Hunting advocates said the legislation misses the mark — by a mile.
“[It’s] an all out assault on Oregonians’ way of life,” gubernatorial candidate Sen. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) told the Statesman Journal.
“It criminalizes ranchers, farmers, meat producers and threatens to kill thousands of jobs. It would mean the end of hunting and fishing in Oregon, killing not only traditions and ending access to an essential source of food, but butchering natural resource-based industries that support hunting and fishing,” she said.
Farmers, meanwhile, said the bill would hurt local ranchers and be a shot to the state’s economy.
“This would expose farmers, ranchers, veterinarians, breeders and animal owners to criminal liability for standard, humane practices that are essential to animal health, food production and genetic management,” Oregon Farm Bureau said on its website.
A portion of the signatures collected for the initiative will likely be ruled ineligible, such as any from individuals who are not registered voters — but organizers have until July 2 to submit enough valid signatures.
“We want people to actually recognize that is a choice that we could make to shift away from killing animals, to treat all those other animals the same way we treat our companion animals,” David Michelson, leader of the campaign, told the Oregonian Tuesday.
“I think that it is definitely possible that we could qualify, that we could turn in enough signatures, but we will be using every day before the deadline to collect signatures,” he said.
The initiative, which has failed to make it onto the ballot in the past, aims to push the state towards more plant-based food.
“We believe it is possible to meet all of our needs as human beings while simultaneously meeting the needs of the animals we inhabit this state with,” the measure’s website states.
“Using the killing of animals as a strategy to meet our needs is a choice, and our campaign wants to propose making a different one. Whether that looks like greater investment in plant agriculture, utilizing non-lethal wildlife management practices, or implementing non-animal methods for research, many alternative strategies already exist to choose from,” it reads.
The measure would have narrow exemptions for self-defense and veterinary practices, adocates said.
The Oregon Hunters Association, which opposes the bill, estimates more than 1 million people in the state would be impacted by the ban on hunting, fishing and farming.