(July 24, 2026) – Salem, OR – The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) today celebrated the failure of Oregon’s Initiative Petition 28 (IP 28), the so-called “People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE) Act,” after the Oregon Secretary of State’s Elections Division announced the measure failed to gather enough valid signatures to qualify for the November 3, 2026, General Election ballot.
The Elections Division determined the Petition contained 104,262 valid signatures – well short of the number required to qualify for the ballot.
The announcement marks the latest victory in CSF’s longstanding effort to defeat repeated attempts to criminalize hunting, fishing, trapping, livestock production, and other lawful wildlife management and agricultural practices in Oregon. For years, CSF has worked alongside state and national partners to oppose multiple versions of these extreme proposals by educating policymakers, mobilizing stakeholders, and providing factual analysis on the devastating consequences such measures would have for fish and wildlife conservation, rural communities, and America’s sporting traditions.
IP 28 represents the latest in a series of recurring efforts to prohibit or criminalize lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, and livestock production in Oregon – efforts that CSF has consistently opposed alongside its conservation and agricultural partners.
Had it qualified for the ballot, IP 28 would have effectively eliminated long-standing exemptions within Oregon’s animal cruelty statutes that protect lawful hunting, angling, trapping, livestock production, and science-based wildlife management practices. The initiative represented one of the broadest attacks on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and sustainable use of natural resources ever proposed in the United States.
“This is an important victory not only for Oregon’s hunters, anglers, trappers, farmers, and ranchers, but for everyone who values science-based wildlife management and the conservation successes it has delivered for generations,” said Taylor Schmitz, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “CSF’s States Program Team worked tirelessly alongside our in-state and national partners throughout this process – just as we have during every previous iteration of this proposal – to educate policymakers, sportsmen and women, and the public about what was truly at stake. While today’s outcome is worth celebrating, we remain committed to ensuring future efforts to undermine our sporting traditions and proven conservation model are met with the same coordinated, science-based response.”
Throughout the petition process, CSF led efforts to educate policymakers and stakeholders on the far-reaching impacts of IP 28 through legislative engagement, coalition building, policy analysis, and public outreach. The Foundation worked closely with conservation organizations, agricultural interests, sporting groups, and other partners to ensure decision-makers understood that the initiative extended far beyond animal welfare, threatening lawful conservation practices that have restored wildlife populations, funded habitat conservation, and supported Oregon’s outdoor heritage for generations.
Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair, Senator David Brock-Smith, said, ” The failure of IP 28 to make November’s ballot is a major win for not only Oregon sportsmen and women, but our farmers, ranchers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Make no mistake however, radical policies like this will be back and we must stand against them. These outside interest groups continue to try and use Oregonians as their experiment. Today is a win and we will continue to work against such efforts that negatively impact our right to hunt, fish, farm, and forage.”
Although IP 28 failed to qualify for the 2026 ballot, CSF remains committed to working with the Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, conservation partners, and stakeholders to defend the rights of hunters, anglers, recreational shooters, trappers, and landowners against future attempts to dismantle the state’s sporting traditions.