The Oregon Secretary of State’s office confirmed that Initiative Petition 28 (IP28) failed to secure the required signatures to qualify for the November ballot, handing a major victory to Oregon’s conservationists, sportsmen, and agricultural communities.
The state’s final verification counted 104,262 valid signatures, falling short of the required 117,173-threshold.
The petition sought to criminalize hunting, fishing, trapping, breeding, livestock production, and common farming practices across the state.
Named the PEACE Act (People for Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions), the petition sought to outlaw sport and commercial fishing, licensed hunting, and animal slaughter.
The Oregon Hunters Association (OHA) engaged in a public education campaign to defeat the measure.
“This is a massive victory for everyone who values Oregon’s wildlife management and outdoor heritage, but we cannot afford to simply celebrate and wait for the next attack,” said Todd Adkins, OHA executive director. “Animal extremists continue to fund these attempts because their ideology demands that hunting be stripped from the landscape entirely. This is a critical reminder that these radical efforts are being driven by a combination of wealthy national organizations and local anti-hunting activists right here in Oregon.”
David Michelson, a top supporter of the measure, did not rule out another try.
While IP28 is dead for the 2026 cycle, OHA leadership warned that anti-hunting groups are likely to return with another iteration of the same ban.
“Our collective defense made all the difference this cycle, but breaking this exhausting, reactionary loop requires a permanent solution,” Adkins saod. “It’s time we went on the offense. In the coming weeks and months, you’ll see the rollout of a protective framework designed by OHA to secure our future once and for all.”
OHA (oregonhunters.org) is the state’s largest Oregon-based pro-hunting organization, with 12,000 members and 26 chapters statewide.
