The so-called “Oregon Freedom Amendment” cleared a procedural hurdle, generating enough signatures to go to the Oregon Attorney General to begin drafting.
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Initiative Petition 28 would prohibit many common animal-related activities in Oregon, including hunting, fishing and livestock breeding.
Author: Amy-Xiaoshi DePaola
Published: 3:47 PM PDT August 20, 2026
Updated: 3:47 PM PDT August 20, 2026
Measure to enshrine the right to hunt, fish within Oregon could be on the ballot in 2028 | kgw.com
SALEM, Ore. — Voters could determine whether hunting, fishing, trapping and other related activities will be protected under Oregon law — but they’ll have to wait two years.
Initiative Petition 25, also dubbed the “Oregon Freedom Amendment,” aims to add an amendment to the state constitution “to protect rights to hunt, fish, farm, trap, ranch, grow food, and wildlife management.”
It was filed on June 23 by chief petitioner Kari Goodheart, a resident of Irrigon, and needed at least 1,000 signatures submitted by the chief petitioner to begin the ballot title drafting process.
The signatures were submitted Aug. 5; almost two weeks later, the verification process was completed, with a total of 1,557 signatures, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s website.
Thus, with the required number of signatures, the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division has formally referred the initiative to the Oregon Attorney General to begin drafting the measure’s official ballot title and summary.
It could be on the ballot for the Nov. 7, 2028, general election to all state voters.
Hear Directly from The Joint Commission
“This is about protecting the people’s ability to continue the practices that have helped sustain Oregon communities for generations,” said Goodheart in a statement. “Hunting, fishing, farming, ranching, trapping, growing food, caring for animals and managing wildlife are deeply connected to Oregon’s land, culture, food supply and way of life. The people should have a constitutional safeguard for these activities.”
This process began after a controversial proposal that would have criminalized hunting and fishing in the state missed making the November ballot. Multiple agricultural groups, including the Oregon Farm Bureau, came out against it before signatures were even submitted, and when it fell short of the required number of signatures to make it onto the ballot, many, including Gov. Tina Kotek, rejoiced, and the matter seemed to be settled.
State Sen. Christine Drazan, who is running against Kotek in November’s gubernatorial race, took the matter into her own hands, quickly announcing her plan to introduce legislation next year that would refer a constitutional amendment to voters that would enshrine the right to hunt and fish into state law.
Goodheart’s initiative is a separate effort, though it also appears to be a response to the failed criminalization effort; a section of IP 25 references the earlier initiative, reading, “No law, regulation, or initiative petition may: … (b) Redefine generally accepted hunting, fishing, trapping, farming, ranching, or agricultural practices as animal abuse, neglect, or cruelty.”
About 24 states have enshrined the right to hunt and fish within their state constitutions, with Vermont being the first in 1777, according to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. The most recent state to do so was Florida in 2024. Other states, like California and Rhode Island, guarantee residents the right to fish but not to hunt; while language in Alaska is said to “meet the test,” according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
This also isn’t Goodheart’s first time introducing an initiative: Last year, she was one of the main forces behind the Let Us Paddle PAC. The group formed after the Oregon State Legislature passed House Bill 2982, which required permits for non-motorized boats in the water in Oregon, which included those canoeing, kayaking and paddle boarding; the funds from those permits would go into the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund. Said fund works to prevent and combat invasive species, such as zebra and quagga mussels.
“This unjustified regulation imposes unconstitutional burdens on access to free, natural, public resources,” the Let US Paddle PAC website wrote.
However, it fell short of qualifying for the ballot.