Oregon hunters and anglers may soon face one of the broadest anti-hunting ballot fights in the country.
The Oregon Secretary of State’s May 27 initiative submission log lists 120,935 signatures received for Initiative Petition 28, formally the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act. The measure needs 117,173 valid signatures as a statutory initiative, so supporters have passed the raw-number mark. However, that doesn’t make it ballot-official yet. Oregon places an initiative on the ballot only if signature verification shows the petition contains the required number of valid signatures.
If it qualifies, voters would decide the measure at the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The certified ballot title says IP28 would criminalize breeding practices and injuring or killing animals, including for food, hunting, and fishing, while creating exceptions.
For hunters and anglers, this isn’t a vague animal welfare proposal with a few awkward side effects. The petition text directly removes the existing exemption for lawful fishing, hunting, and trapping activities from Oregon’s animal abuse statutes. It also removes exemptions for wildlife management practices, livestock slaughter, animal husbandry, rodeos or similar exhibitions, agricultural and scientific research, pest control, and reasonable handling and training techniques.
What IP28 Would Change
IP28 would amend Oregon’s animal cruelty laws by changing which animals and activities fall under those statutes.
The petition text defines “animal” as any nonhuman mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish. That places game animals and fish plainly inside the proposed framework.
The measure would leave exemptions for immediate self-defense and good veterinary practices. However, it would remove current protections for lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife management, livestock slaughter, animal husbandry, commercial poultry, rodeos, research, pest control, and handling or training techniques.
That’s a long list. It’s also why hunting groups, farming groups, and wildlife management advocates are treating this as more than another Portland-flavored ballot tantrum with a compostable yard sign.
Supporters Say It Expands Animal Protection
The Yes on IP28 campaign says the measure would extend legal protections currently given to companion animals to animals on farms, in labs, and in the wild. The campaign says IP28 doesn’t change Oregon’s definition of animal abuse, but changes which animals receive protection under that definition.
Supporters also argue that Oregon can meet human needs through plant agriculture, non-lethal wildlife management, and non-animal research methods. The campaign says 120,935 signatures had been submitted as of May 20.
Hunting Groups See a Direct Threat
The Oregon Hunters Association says IP28 would classify licensed hunting as animal abuse and criminalize sport and commercial fishing statewide. The group also argues the measure could affect trappers, farmers, ranchers, wildlife biologists, pest control operators, veterinarians, research institutions, and Oregon Tribes with treaty hunting and fishing rights.
OHA also points to possible conservation funding fallout. Oregon wildlife programs rely heavily on hunting and fishing license revenue, tags, and federal excise-tax funding tied to hunters and anglers. A recent legislative budget review said Oregon’s 2025-27 budget includes a package increasing hunting and angling license and tag fees to generate $18.1 million in Other Funds revenue.
So, yes, this is a hunting story. It’s also a fishing story, a trapping story, a wildlife management story, and a food production story. IP28 is not aimed at one season, one tag, or one controversial method. It targets the legal carveouts that allow entire categories of animal use to exist without being treated as criminal abuse.
What Happens Next
The signature total now sits above the raw number required for a statutory initiative. Still, Oregon requires valid signatures, not just submitted signatures. State rules require the Elections Division to review submitted sheets, sample signatures, verify them against voter registration records, and determine whether the petition contains enough valid signatures to qualify.
If IP28 qualifies, Oregon voters will decide whether the state should remove those exemptions from its animal cruelty laws.
For hunters and anglers, the message is pretty simple. Watch the verification process, read the text, and don’t assume the weird thing can’t happen just because it sounds too extreme to pass.
