The state of Oregon has gained a lot of attention lately as Initiative Petition 28 (IP28) cleared the number of signatures required to put the measure on the ballot (117,173 verified signatures needed). This is the fourth time this initiative has been the discussion point in this column dating back to September 2023, when it was titled IP13. These guys aren’t going away, and everyone needs to pay attention. If a precedent is set in one state, the blueprint for the remaining states is set for everyone to fall right in line. This is dangerous territory that would literally impact every citizen, but these groups don’t care about that. They care about giving animals the very basic rights that humans are given.
IP28, formerly titled the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions Act, would make sweeping changes to Oregon’s animal cruelty laws by removing many of the exemptions that currently protect accepted agricultural, hunting, fishing, research and animal husbandry practices. Under current law, activities such as livestock production, breeding, slaughter, branding, castration, dehorning, veterinary procedures, hunting and fishing are generally exempt from animal cruelty statutes when conducted legally and according to accepted standards.
IP28 would eliminate many of those exemptions, potentially exposing ranchers and livestock producers to criminal liability for routine management practices that are currently lawful. The proposal would also expand Oregon’s animal sexual assault statute to include animal breeding and artificial insemination unless performed by a veterinarian. Supporters argue the measure would extend the same legal protections afforded to pets to livestock, wildlife and research animals, while opponents contend it would effectively end animal agriculture in Oregon by making the intentional injury or killing of animals illegal.
IP28 would represent one of the most significant changes to animal-use laws ever proposed in the U.S. and could fundamentally alter how ranchers operate in Oregon.
In a response to how Oregon’s agriculture life would look like if IP28 were to pass this November, chief petitioner David Michelson told KLCC’s news reporter Michael Dunne, “It would look different for each individual, both on a personal level and also across individual industries … For agriculture, about 13% of Oregon’s overall gross sales product is agriculture, and of that, 30% is the sale of animals or their products while 70% is crops.
“We can make 100% of that crops if we choose to do so. That could look like transitioning chicken farms into mushroom farms, which is actually a pretty classic transition, or similarly transitioning pig farms into mushroom farms … We also have alternatives for wildlife management. IP 28 doesn’t prohibit us from intervening in the world of animals, but it does take killing them off the table. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as well as the USDA have both developed non-lethal forms of wildlife management. The USDA has researched things like sterilization and vaccines.
“If we view it as genuinely helpful or necessary, we can try to manage populations … We can choose to make a system, design a society and a set of laws that make it easier not to kill animals, that make the default to be not killing animals and instead relating to animals in a more compassionate way.” Michelson continued when asked about the long-term strategy his team has taken with initiative marketing, “We will campaign for it, and it would be fantastic if our messaging is so compelling that we really can convince that many people.”
Oregon is home to over 330,000 licensed hunters, 500,000 recreational anglers and 2,000 licensed commercial fishers. Hunting, fishing and wildlife watching account for over $1.2 billion in revenue and 11,000 jobs that generate over $51 million in state and local taxes, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
According to Oregon State University Extension statistics, Oregon ranchers contribute nearly $900 million in receipts for cattle and calves each year and is the No. 2 industry in agriculture. A total of 96.7% of Oregon ranches are family owned and operated with 44% of these being women-owned (Oregon Farm Bureau). Oregon is home to over 1,235 centennial ranches and almost 50 have been continuous for over 150 years.
In my December 29, 2025, column titled “Initiative Marketing,” I quoted an article by Current Affairs where Michelson blatantly laid out their strategy. Michelson says, “We believe this initiative will help shift society towards no longer using the killing of animals as a strategy to meet human needs. Given the radical nature of the campaign, we’re aware that it is almost certainly not going to pass in 2026. Despite that, we believe getting it on the ballot now will make it more likely to pass in a future election cycle, and that it will help us build the organization we’d need to keep getting it on the ballot.”
The term lawfare has been used a lot more this year to describe the use of government power, policy and procedures to promote an agenda. The ideological shift in nature of this measure forces populations to change because a small group wants to see things change, regardless of the thousands, if not millions, of lives this will impact and how economies can be destroyed. No, this won’t pass this year, but they don’t care. They’re already set up for the long game, and this is going to force us into a long, drawn-out battle. Unity across multiple industries is our best option to out-promote and clarify the radical nature of this measure. Our livelihoods depend on it. — LOGAN IPSEN
