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Oregonians are waking up to a brazen attack on a way of life that built this country — a radical initiative, labeled IP28 or the PEACE Act by its backers, is barreling toward the November ballot and would strip long-standing legal protections for hunting, fishing, trapping, and agriculture. This is not a thoughtful conservation reform; it is an ideologically-driven power grab dressed up as compassion that would turn neighbors, ranchers, and sportsmen into potential criminals for practices handed down through generations.
At its core, Initiative Petition 28 would remove the statutory exemptions that currently protect lawful hunting, fishing, farming, and wildlife management from Oregon’s animal-cruelty statutes, effectively extending the same legal framework that protects pets to every creature in the state. Supporters sell it as humane, but the plain reading of the language would criminalize routine, regulated activities that sustain families, feed communities, and fund conservation.
The campaign behind IP28 has been relentless about collecting signatures, and proponents say they’ve turned in the raw numbers needed to get the measure before voters, with elections officials set to verify filings as the July 2, 2026 deadline approaches. What this means in real terms is a statewide referendum on whether to outlaw practices that underpin rural economies and the very conservation funding model Oregon relies on. The rushed, referendum-driven approach is exactly the sort of blunt political instrument that breaks more than it fixes.
The backlash has been bipartisan and immediate: hunting, fishing, conservation, and agricultural groups — from state sportsmen’s caucuses to Ducks Unlimited and the Oregon Hunters Association — have warned that IP28 would wreck wildlife management, destroy license-funded conservation programs, and put farmers and ranchers in legal peril. These are not fringe warnings; they come from boots-on-the-ground stewards of habitat and game who know how fragile funding and seasons are, and who understand the chaos criminalizing everyday rural life would cause.
Conservative media and patriotic voices have rightly sounded the alarm, reminding Americans that liberty and common sense cannot be surrendered to radical animal-rights absolutism engineered by out-of-state activists. Rock icons and blue-collar Americans alike see this for what it is: an assault on private property, personal freedom, and the traditions that bind rural and urban Oregonians together. Voters should remember that defending hunting and fishing is not cruelty — it is stewardship and responsible use of God’s creation.
This fight is about more than seasons and licenses; it’s about who gets to decide how Americans live, feed their families, and conserve the lands they love. Conservative patriots ought to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with ranchers, hunters, anglers, and small farmers to oppose a measure that promises upheaval and little practical benefit. Get involved, talk to neighbors, and make sure Oregon’s ballot box protects common sense, not radical experiments in social engineering.
