Why It Matters: The People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE) Act, currently known as IP-28, threatens to criminalize longstanding traditions of hunting, fishing, trapping, farming, and even pest control by removing critical exemptions from Oregon’s animal cruelty statutes. If passed, the measure would upend access to local, quality meat resources for millions of Oregonians, devastate rural economies, and undermine the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation that has successfully restored fish and wildlife populations across the country. With proponents closing in on the required signatures, sportsmen and women must remain vigilant to protect Oregon’s outdoor heritage.
Highlights
- IP-28 would eliminate exemptions for lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, wildlife management, pest control, and standard agricultural practices, effectively criminalizing these activities.
- The measure would transform daily life for Oregon residents by restricting access to locally produced meat and eliminating essential pest control tools.
- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is fighting to ensure IP-28 does not bring an abrupt end to the North American Model of Wildlife Management, conservation funding, or sportsmen’s traditions that have sustained Oregon’s fish and wildlife for generations.
With the most recent submission of 6,852 raw, unverified signatures on April 28, 2026, proponents of Initiative Petition 28 have submitted 111,867 signatures towards the 117,173 signatures required to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. Due to standard processing, the April figures reflect signatures gathered during March and April. Proponents have until July 2, 2026, to submit the remaining 5,306 signatures to meet the bare minimum threshold. Gathered signatures will need to go through a verification process to confirm the collection of 117,173 valid signatures will occur if/when the proponents declare the petition complete.
The PEACE Act would fundamentally alter life for millions of Oregon residents. By removing exemptions from animal cruelty laws, the initiative would criminalize routine activities essential to agriculture, pest control, and personal sustenance. If passed, IP-28 would mean that sportsmen and women can no longer provide for their families through hunting and fishing. Further, Oregonians would lose ready access to quality, locally raised meat, forcing greater reliance on out-of-state sources and driving costs for families already facing economic pressures. Standard pest control practices that protect homes, farms, restaurants, and public health would also be eliminated, creating new burdens for both rural and urban residents.
Beyond individual impacts, IP-28 poses a direct threat to the North American Model of Wildlife Management, a proven framework that has guided successful conservation efforts in the United States for over a century. Sportsmen and women, through license fees and excise taxes, provide a large portion of funding for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) operations. Criminalizing hunting, fishing, and trapping would slash this critical revenue stream, cripple science-based wildlife management, and end cherished traditions that have connected generations to Oregon’s outdoors. Bipartisan opposition from Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairs Senators Anthony Broadman (D-Bend) and David Brock-Smith (R-Port Orford) underscores the broad consensus against this radical measure.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, alongside coalition partners, continues to highlight the devastating consequences of IP-28 while educating voters on the vital role sportsmen play in conservation. Should the petitions qualify for the ballot, CSF will intensify efforts to defeat this measure at the polls, ensuring that Oregon’s sporting heritage, rural way of life, and successful wildlife management traditions are protected for future generations.
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