A proposed Oregon ballot initiative known as the PEACE Act has gathered 90% of the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, with 12,000 still required by July 2.If approved, the measure would criminalize a wide range of animal-use practices, impacting an industry that generated $4.4 billion and supported more than 30,000 jobs in 2022.Supporters frame the effort as a long-term moral movement, while critics warn it would devastate Oregon\u2019s economy and disrupt wildlife population management.<\/p>\n
A proposed Oregon ballot initiative that would criminalize hunting, fishing, animal husbandry and livestock slaughter has reached 90% of the signatures required to get on the ballot as of Tuesday. <\/p>\n
Petitioners have until July 2 to gather 12,000 more to qualify for the November ballot. <\/p>\n
If approved, the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE) Act<\/a> would criminalize pest control, commercially grown poultry, the use of animals in rodeos, training techniques, wildlife management practices, scientific research that involves animals and more. <\/p>\n In 2022, animal agriculture contributed $4.4 billion<\/a> to Oregon\u2019s economic output and employed more than 30,000 people. <\/p>\n When asked about the effect the initiative would have on farmers if passed, PEACE Act chief petitioner David Michelson told ABC2<\/a>, \u201cThere are so many different alternatives. Thirty percent of Oregon agricultural sales are animal related, 70% are crops. We can have 100% of those be crops if we wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n Petitioners compare the initiative to the 19th amendment<\/p>\n Michelson compared<\/a> the initiative to the women\u2019s suffrage movement, which culminated in the ratification of women\u2019s right to vote in 1920. <\/p>\n \u201cIt took 50 years to get women\u2019s suffrage,\u201d he told Cowboy State Daily<\/a>. Criminalizing animal-use practices will take a long time, but the initiative has gotten people thinking about it, he said. <\/p>\n The initiative\u2019s website<\/a> says, \u201cWe believe everyone should be equally protected under the law, and that all animals deserve equal consideration, regardless of whether or not we consider them our companions. All animals deserve a life free from cruelty.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u2018Humane Transition Fund\u2019<\/p>\n If passed, the initiative would establish a \u201cHumane Transition Fund\u201d to mitigate economic damage to anyone whose livelihood was shut down. <\/p>\n It establishes a \u201cTransitional Oversight Council\u201d that would issue grants \u201cto help with food assistance\u201d either through food and cash benefits or \u201copening private or state-run grocery stores.\u201d <\/p>\n The council would also \u201ccover all the costs of operating a job retraining program\u201d and \u201creplace lost income due to the implementation of this Act until the individual has completed\u201d the job retraining program or gotten a new career. <\/p>\n Not only would the Humane Transition Fund cover the cost of humans\u2019 lost income, but it would \u201ccover the costs of animal care\u201d for any animals that \u201ccould no longer be killed or harmed.\u201d<\/p>\n Many Oregon residents are opposed to the initiative<\/p>\n Selah Tenney, a rural Oregon resident, told Cowboy State Daily<\/a>, Michelson is \u201ctruly an extremist.\u201d <\/p>\n She echoed the sentiment of many other Oregonians who say, even if the initiative makes it on the ballot, the chance it gets passed is small. <\/p>\n But if it did pass, oyster bar owner Michelle Wachsmuth told ABC2<\/a>, \u201cIt would be devastating for our business.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cI would still be serving seafood, but we would have to import everything from another state,\u201d she explained. \u201cDowntown Portland is already in a recession, and Oregon is number five in unemployment.\u201d <\/p>\n She added, \u201cIt\u2019s gonna send us right from a recession right into a depression. It\u2019s like, how much more can this poor state take?\u201d<\/p>\n