An Oregon initiative that would have brought an end to hunting, fishing, and ranching across the state was narrowly prevented from appearing on the November ballot.
Initiative Petition 28, also known as the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act, would have removed legal exemptions that allowed for residents to participate in a variety of wildlife and agricultural practices, including hunting, fishing, trapping, and other animal husbandry practices, according to a report from Fox News.
The ballot initiative was previously believed to have secured enough signatures to surge past the threshold required in order to appear on Oregon’s midterm ballots, with submitted signatures totaling over 142,000. The state required 117,173 in order to qualify for a referendum.
Animal activists in Oregon reportedly have enough signatures to put their "Initiative Petition 28" on the ballot, which would effectively BAN fishing, hunting, and livestock in the state pic.twitter.com/8t7hO6J71y
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 28, 2026
After two rounds of signature verification, election officials in Oregon revised the qualified signature amount to just 104,262. Opponents of the measure applauded the result and stated that the effort was hardly organic, as “extreme progressive animal rights groups from outside the state” funded the signature drive.
IP28 is dead.
— Real Ed Diehl (@Real_EdDiehl) July 26, 2026
The measure that would have criminalized hunting, fishing, livestock production, and even basic pest control failed to get enough valid signatures. They turned in over 142,000, but only about 104,000 checked out. That was short of the 117,173 needed.
This wasn’t… pic.twitter.com/5xw2DlCVEZ
Shortly following the defeat of the ballot initiative, Oregon’s progressive governor Tina Kotek likewise came out to support the result. Kotek only narrowly secured her office in 2022, winning by less than 3.5% of the vote against Republican Christine Drazan. Many onlookers believed, had IP-28 made its way onto the ballot, a conservative wave of opposition would have turned out to defeat the effort in November.
I’m relieved IP-28 failed to qualify for the November ballot.
— Tina Kotek (@TinaKotek) July 25, 2026
Efforts to criminalize activities like hunting and fishing are wrong for Oregon. I know from conversations with Oregonians across the state that this measure would have done nothing to help them. This is a win for…
Kotek will face off against Drazan once again in November in hopes of retaining the seat.