Oregon Hunters Association receives $50k to combat a ‘misleading’ petition

This article was written by Maximus Osburn with KOBI-5:

OREGON – The Oregon Hunters Association received $50,000 to combat a ballot initiative that would effectively criminalize hunting, fishing and more in Oregon.

IP28, the People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions (PEACE Act), intends to remove many of the current exemptions from Oregon’s animal cruelty laws. It argues that Oregonians can choose alternate ways to meet our needs without reliance on abuse.

The Oregon Hunters Association (OHA) say this would be damaging to many Oregonians’ way of life. It received $50,000 from the National Shooting Sports Foundation to combat IP28. They intend to use the funds by educating the public through commercials, websites, ads and more. Executive Director at the OHA, Todd Adkins said,

“They mislead folks who sign it. They say, ‘we want to end animal cruelty.’ They don’t tell you what they’re actually after and that’s essentially the way of life all of us have come to know and love here in Oregon, it’s just part of our culture, it’s just part of everyday living. There won’t be any of us who aren’t negatively impacted by this if it passes.”

IP28 needs 117,000 signatures verified by July before it can qualify for the November ballot. The official website’s last update puts the number of signatures at over 102,000. NBC5 reached out to those behind IP28 for more information but haven’t heard back.