A conflict between a coyote and a woman highlights one of the many dangers of a potential ballot initiative in the signature-gathering process in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) reports a coyote bit a woman on a walking trail just outside the city limits of West Salem in the northwest part of the state. She suffered minor injuries and received medical treatment before being released. The Pole County Sheriff’s Office and ODFW spread the word and contacted nearby residents and schools, urging parents to keep an eye on young children and pets.

Initiative Petition 28 is an effort by radical anti-hunting and animal rights activists to place a measure on the 2026 ballot that would make it a crime for anyone to carry out trapping or pest control. It would also criminalize hunting, fishing and raising animals like livestock, poultry and others for food.

Proponents unsuccessfully tried to gather enough signatures to qualify similar measures for both the 2022 and 2024 elections. They have until early July to gather and submit enough signatures to make the 2026 ballot.

Hunt 2 Conserve strongly opposes IP 28 as its passage would endanger public safety, contribute to food insecurity, frustrate prove wildlife management, close businesses and cause others leave the state, and negatively affect the state economy and recreational activities on multiple fronts.

West Salem is about 55 miles southwest of Portland.

Click here to read more about IP 28.

About Hunt 2 Conserve

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)