Oregon initiative that would have banned most killing of animals won’t be on November ballots

Oregonians won’t vote in November on whether to ban hunting, fishing, livestock farming and animal research after backers of a widely criticized initiative failed to gather enough valid signatures to make the ballot.

The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office announced late Friday afternoon, July 24, that it had determined Initiative Petition 28, an effort led by Portland-based vegan advocates to dramatically expand the state’s animal cruelty laws, had less than 75% of the valid signatures it needed from Oregon voters to make it onto the November ballot. 

Oregonians trying to pass laws through a statewide vote need to collect signatures from 6% of voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election. This year, that’s 117,173 signatures.

Backers of the animal cruelty initiative, who did not immediately return a call for comment Friday, reported handing in 142,784 signatures. But through two statistical samples, state election officials determined that just 104,262 of those signatures matched individual Oregon voters’ signature records. Election officials compare signatures submitted to voter records and exclude duplicates. 

Initiative Petition 28 would have banned nearly all harming or killing animals, with exceptions for self-defense and veterinary care. It would not have applied to insects, which aren’t considered animals under Oregon law, but would cover all other nonhuman creatures.

The initiative had widespread opposition from Democratic and Republican political leaders, the farming, ranching and fishing industries and Oregon’s federally recognized tribes, whose treaty-protected rights to hunt and fish in their traditional land would not have been exempted from the ban.

A coalition opposing the initiative welcomed the news. Lauren Kuenzi, government affairs director at the Oregon Farm Bureau and a coalition spokesperson, thanked Oregonians who raised alarms about the potential consequences of the proposed law.

“Today’s announcement means Oregonians will not be faced with a ballot measure that would have made criminals out of law-abiding citizens, threatened family farms and ranches, increased food costs and undermined the science-based wildlife management that protects our state’s natural resources,” Kuenzi said.

This was the third election cycle that animal rights advocates have introduced a version of the initiative, and the closest they’ve come to making the ballot. The campaign raised more than $300,000 for its efforts this time around, state campaign finance records show, allowing it to pay petition circulators. 

None of the other 88 initiatives Oregonians proposed this year submitted enough signatures, so this will be the first general election in decades without a citizen-led initiative on the ballot.