Proposed measure 25 seeks to declare hunting and farming human rights

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution, known as Initiative Petition 25, seeks to protect individual rights to hunt, fish, trap, farm, ranch and engage in wildlife management across the state.

The initiative petition declares these activities to be fundamental human rights rooted in Oregon's heritage, food security, personal liberty and rural way of life. The measure aims to shield traditional agricultural and wildlife management practices from substantial regulatory burdens or statutory redefinitions.

KTVZ reporter Spencer Sacks interviewed petitioners behind Initiative Petition 25 regarding the proposed constitutional measure. He will have a full report tonight for KTVZ News at 6.

If passed, the amendment would add Section 44 to Article I of the Oregon Constitution. The text guarantees rights to raise livestock, cultivate crops, harvest natural resources and participate in science-based conservation programs. It also establishes these activities as a public right and the preferred means of managing the state's fish, wildlife and natural resources.

Under the measure, state and local governments could regulate these rights only through laws or rules that are reasonable, narrowly tailored and necessary to promote wildlife conservation, public safety or public health protection. The text explicitly prohibits initiative petitions, laws or regulations from reclassifying generally accepted agricultural, farming, ranching or hunting practices as animal abuse, neglect or cruelty.

The proposed amendment includes specific limitations regarding property and legal liability. The text states that the measure does not authorize trespass on private property, infringe on private property rights or limit civil or criminal liability for reckless, negligent or intentional misconduct. It also preserves state authority to enforce laws against intentional animal torture outside of regulated activities, while maintaining the power of wildlife management agencies to set seasons, bag limits and conservation measures.

The text contains a severability clause ensuring that if any section of the amendment is found invalid, the remaining provisions remain in full force.