Living

Oregon's Proposed Measure Could Criminalize Hunting, Fishing, and Farming

By Rachel Schneider Men's Journal

For generations, the legal landscape surrounding outdoor sports, commercial harvesting, and agricultural production has relied on a foundational set of statutory exemptions. Across the United States, traditional activities like harvesting a game animal, catching a fish, or processing livestock are explicitly shielded from criminal animal cruelty prosecution.

They are, after all, a way of life for many families - and how they put food on the table.

But in one corner of the Pacific Northwest, a relentless legislative push is on the verge of completely flipping those centuries-old legal protections upside down.

Oregon is currently tracking dangerously close to placing a historic, highly controversial ballot measure before voters this November that would effectively ban all forms of hunting, fishing, and animal agriculture statewide.

Known formally as Initiative Petition 28 - and dubbed by its coordinators as the PEACE Act (People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions) - the sweeping measure just passed a critical operational milestone. On Friday, animal rights organizers officially submitted more than 126,000 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State's Office, comfortably surpassing the baseline requirement of 117,173 valid signatures needed to qualify for the upcoming general election ballot.

Stripping Away the Exemptions

Under current Oregon state law (ORS 167.315–167.333), licensed sports like hunting, angling, and trapping, alongside standard farming practices and scientific research, are completely exempt from criminal animal abuse charges.

Initiative Petition 28 aims to strip those legal exemptions away entirely.

By eliminating the baseline protections, the measure would redefine the legal definition of animal abuse to include any intentional act that injures, breeds, or kills an animal, except in narrow instances of direct self-defense or localized veterinary care. If passed by voters, the immediate ramifications would be unprecedented:

  • Hunting and Fishing: Every single form of licensed sport or commercial hunting and fishing would be classified as a criminal offense under state law.
  • Farming and Ranching: Raising livestock for meat, dairy, eggs, or fiber would constitute criminal animal abuse, effectively dismantling the state's agriculture sector.
  • Tribal Rights: The sweeping language contains no carve-outs for Oregon's nine federally recognized Native American Tribes, putting treaty-protected hunting and fishing rights in immediate legal jeopardy.

According to campaign materials published by the initiative's organizers, the goal is "to codify [animals '] right to life and bodily autonomy in law." However, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that hunting and fishing generate over $1.9 billion annually in economic activity for local communities. To boot, state conservation, habitat restoration, and wildlife management programs are funded almost entirely through the sale of hunting and fishing licenses - revenue that would vanish overnight.

Major advocacy coalitions - including the Oregon Hunter's Association, the Oregon Farm Bureau, and the Sportsmen's Alliance - are heavily mobilizing resources ahead of the summer deadline. The Oregon Farm Bureau warned that the passage of IP28 would turn Oregon into a "no kill or harm" sanctuary state, forcing residents to either adopt a completely vegan lifestyle or rely strictly on food shipped in from other states and countries, drastically inflating household grocery costs.

What Happens Next?

While proponents have officially cleared the numeric threshold, the battle isn't entirely over just yet. The Oregon Secretary of State's Office is currently conducting statistical sampling procedures to verify that the signatures submitted are valid and do not contain duplicate or unregistered voters.

Because a portion of signatures are routinely rejected during the verification process, petitioners are continuing to circulate clipboards until the final, absolute deadline on July 2, 2026. If the state formally certifies the petition after that date, Oregonians will officially head to the ballot boxes on November 3 to decide the future of outdoor sports and agriculture in the West.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 7:43 PM.

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