An Oregon initiative petition that could effectively criminalize hunting and fishing has cleared a major early hurdle. Initiative Petition 28, formally called the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act, or PEACE Act, has submitted more raw signatures than it needs to qualify for Oregon’s 2026 ballot. That doesn’t (yet) mean voters will definitely see it in November.
The Oregon Elections Division’s May 29 submission log lists IP28 with 126,115 signatures received. A statutory initiative needs 117,173 valid signatures to qualify. Those signatures still have to survive verification.
If the petition qualifies and voters approve it, IP28 would remove current exemptions in Oregon’s animal cruelty law for hunting, fishing, trapping, livestock slaughter, commercial poultry, rodeos, wildlife management, pest control, animal research, and several common animal husbandry practices.
What Is IP28?
IP28 is a proposed statutory initiative for Oregon’s 2026 general election. The campaign behind it calls it the PEACE Act. The full name is the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act, which tells you plenty.
The proposal would amend Oregon’s animal cruelty statutes by removing many exemptions that currently keep lawful animal-use activities outside criminal animal abuse, neglect, and animal sexual assault provisions.
Supporters argue the measure would extend protections currently given to companion animals to animals on farms, in labs, and in the wild.
Critics say the measure would go far beyond animal welfare, putting lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, livestock production, and wildlife management at risk of criminal prosecution.
What Would IP28 Change?
The proposal would define “animal” as any nonhuman mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, or fish. Oregon law currently includes exemptions to animal abuse statutes for lawful fishing, hunting, and trapping activities.
IP28 would remove that exemption. It would also remove exemptions for wildlife management practices, livestock slaughter, commercially grown poultry, animals involved in rodeos, animal husbandry, pest control, and lawful scientific or agricultural research involving animals.
The proposal would leave narrow exceptions for self-defense against immediate harm and for good veterinary practices. That means a lawful elk hunt, salmon trip, trapping season, livestock slaughter, or lethal wildlife management action could lose the legal protection it currently has under Oregon’s animal cruelty framework.
The measure does not simply say, “Hunting is banned.” That makes the proposal easy to overstate, understate, or flat-out botch. Instead, it removes the exemption that currently protects lawful hunting and fishing from prosecution under animal cruelty law. The effect could still be severe for hunters and anglers.
Hunters and Anglers Are Watching
Obviously, hunters and anglers are alarmed because this proposal doesn’t appear to create a new wildlife regulation system. It would instead use animal cruelty law to reach activities that are currently legal under state law.
Oregon already regulates hunting and fishing through seasons, licenses, tags, species rules, and wildlife management policy. IP28 would not simply change a season structure or add a new permit requirement. It would remove the statutory language that keeps legal hunting, fishing, and trapping from being treated as animal cruelty.
For hunters and anglers, the exemption is the fight.
A legal deer harvest is still an intentional act that kills an animal. A hooked fish is still an animal under the proposal’s definition. A trapped furbearer is still covered. Without the existing exemption, those acts could face criminal exposure.
This Goes Way Beyond Hunting
Hunting and fishing obviously get the headline here. However, IP28 also reaches agriculture, wildlife management, research, pest control, and rural businesses.
The proposal would remove exemptions for animals subject to good animal husbandry practices. Current Oregon law specifically references practices such as dehorning, docking, castration, and neutering of livestock. IP28 would remove that definition.
It would also remove the exemption for killing livestock under Oregon’s slaughter methods law. That change would directly affect livestock production inside the state.
The proposal also creates a Humane Transition Fund and a Transitional Oversight Council. The fund could provide grants for food assistance, lost income, job retraining, animal care, conservation, and rewilding efforts. The transition fund shows the proposal could affect workers, businesses, livestock operations, food production, and animal care work beyond hunting and fishing.
Where It Stands Now
Again, IP28 has not officially qualified for the ballot. The campaign has submitted 126,115 raw signatures, which is above the 117,173 valid-signature requirement for a statutory initiative in Oregon. Now, election officials have to verify those signatures.
Raw signatures can be rejected if the signer is not a registered Oregon voter, if the signature does not match voter records, if signatures are duplicated, or if petition sheets fail to meet state requirements.
What Happens Next?
The next major step is signature verification. If enough signatures are verified, IP28 qualifies for Oregon’s 2026 general election ballot. If not, the proposal dies before voters see it.
Oregon’s final signature submission deadline for 2026 initiative petitions is July 2, 2026. The state’s verification deadline is Aug. 2, 2026. So, hunters, anglers, ranchers, farmers, and anyone else watching this fight should know more by late July or early August.
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