Paid signature-gathers continue to try to get more Oregon residents to sign a petition to place a radical citizen initiative on the 2026 ballot that would make it a crime to hunt, fish, trap or raise livestock.
Called the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act, the initiative criminalizes injuring or intentionally killing animals, utilizing breeding practices and raising and/or killing livestock for food. By translation, that would make it illegal to hunt, fish, trap or engage in farming or ranching activities. It even prohibits pest control.
Though extremely radical in nature, it is nothing new. Extremists also tried and failed to get enough signatures for elections in 2022 and 2024. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation strongly opposed each of those efforts, as it opposes this one. Proponents need to gather 117,000 verified signatures for the measure to qualify for the ballot.
If passed, it would frustrate and annul proven scientific wildlife management, including the North American Wildlife Conservation Model. It would also severely harm the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in carrying out its mission to protect and enhance the state’s fish and wildlife and their habitats. Approximately 40 percent of ODFW’s budget is generated from hunting and fishing licenses and fees, which are used to manage all wildlife species, not just those that are hunted. Fish populations would also be drastically impacted since the $203 million ODFW spent on fisheries and fish hatcheries would be cut off.
Proponents also ignore the importance of conservation funding generated by hunters. Federal excise taxes on guns, ammunition and archery equipment via the Pittman-Robertson Act generated more than $17 billion since its inception in 1937. A 2023 report also shines a spotlight on crucial conservation and economic funding generated by the firearm and ammunition industry. Combined with Dingell-Johnson Act excise taxes on fishing gear, that funding is returned to states, including Oregon, for conservation, recreation and public access projects.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)