NEWS
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
HeRMIsTOnHeRaLd.COM • A9
Anti-animal ag initiative raises alarm among Oregon farm groups
slaughtering, branding
and other practices
would be outlawed, and
artificial insemination
would be considered
sexual assault
By GEORGE PLAVEN
CaPITaL PRess
Animal
agriculture
could soon be considered
animal cruelty under a
proposed ballot measure in
Oregon.
Farm groups are push-
ing back against Initiative
Petition 13, which would
strip away most protec-
tions for livestock produc-
ers under the state’s ani-
mal abuse laws.
The result would effec-
tively criminalize every-
thing from slaughtering
livestock to basic ani-
mal husbandry, including
branding and dehorning
cattle, castrating bulls and
docking horses, sheep and
pigs, said Mary Anne Coo-
per, vice president of pub-
lic policy for the Oregon
Farm Bureau.
The initiative also
seeks to reclassify live-
stock breeding and artifi-
cial insemination as sexual
assault of an animal — a
Class C felony.
“It’s a very different
tack than we have ever
seen before,” Cooper said.
“Basically, they’re looking
to ban anything with ani-
mals that is not doctoring.”
Initiative Petition 13
was filed on Nov. 2, 2020,
with the Oregon Secre-
tary of State’s office. The
chief petitioner is David
Michelson, a Portland ani-
mal rights activist.
A similar proposal,
called the Protect Animals
from Unnecessary Suffer-
ing and Exploitation, or
PAUSE, Act, is also being
pursued in Colorado.
The Oregon campaign
recently cleared its first
regulatory hurdle, submit-
ting 1,000 sponsorship sig-
natures for verification on
April 28. If approved, sup-
porters will need to col-
lect 112,020 signatures to
place the initiative on the
November 2022 ballot.
Michelson did not
return calls for comment.
According to state law,
a person commits ani-
mal abuse if they “inten-
tionally, knowingly or
recklessly cause physical
injury to an animal,” or
“cruelly cause the death
of an animal,” except
when practicing good ani-
mal husbandry. The peti-
tion seeks to remove that
exemption.
“IP13 doesn’t change
our definition of abuse,
it merely changes who is
considered above the law,”
the “Yes on IP13” website
states.
Cooper said the petition
is the biggest threat to Ore-
gon’s livestock industry in
decades.
“I think it would leave
producers in incredibly
uncertain territory,” she
said. “It is very dangerous
territory for folks.”
Perhaps the cruelest
twist, Cooper said, is the
effect the initiative would
have on 4-H and FFA pro-
grams. Animal abuse in
Oregon is considered a
Class A a misdemeanor but
is a felony if committed in
the presence of a minor
child.
“You think of 4-H pro-
grams, and people who
have artificial insemina-
tion programs, and all of
a sudden anybody help-
ing them with their proj-
ects could be considered
a felon,” Cooper said.
“That’s just wild.”
Supporters say the ini-
tiative would not ban the
sale of meat, leather and
fur in Oregon.
“It would require that
animals be allowed to truly
live a good life free from
abuse, neglect and sex-
ual assault,” the campaign
website states. “After an
animal lives a full life,
and exits the world natu-
rally and humanely, this
initiative does not prohibit
a farmer from processing
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press, File
An initiative being circulated targets animal agriculture,
hunting, rodeos and wildlife management, among other
activities.
and distributing their body
for consumption.”
But Tom Sharp, a Har-
ney County rancher and
president of the Oregon
Cattlemen’s Association,
said that is not an eco-
nomically viable business
model for producers.
“How would a pro-
ducer ever plan on manag-
ing a herd of cattle, until
some uncertain date when
that herd has reached their
full and natural lifespan?”
Sharp said. “At that point,
it’s impractical to take
those animals to market
for processing.”
Oregon has more than
3,000 cattle ranchers state-
wide with 1.2 million
head of cattle. In 2019,
cattle and calves ranked
as the second-most valu-
able agricultural commod-
ity, at $652 million. Sharp
said the petition could put
those businesses at risk.
“I don’t see, from a
business standpoint, how
that would pencil out for
any of these beef produc-
ers,” he said.
The initiative doesn’t
only target agriculture. It
would also erase animal
cruelty exemptions for
hunting, fishing, wildlife
management, rodeos and
scientific research, among
others.
Amy Patrick, outreach
coordinator for the Ore-
gon Hunters Association,
said the initiative is ring-
ing alarm bells and could
potentially make hunting
illegal in the state.
“It’s an attempt to get
at fishing, trapping, hunt-
ing and additional wildlife
management practices,”
Patrick said.
“Removing the exemp-
tions would allow them
to be classified as animal
abuse. ... It’s not animal
abuse by any stretch of the
imagination.”
Dave Dillon, executive
vice president of the Ore-
gon Farm Bureau, said the
organization is assembling
a broad coalition of groups
and businesses to oppose
the initiative.
“There is a lot of con-
cern among members,”
Dillon said. “It’s going to
take a lot of hands. That’s
the job ahead of us, and
we’ll be ready to do it.”
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