The Oregon Legislature has concluded its so-called "short session," a 35-day session held in even-numbered years. The Legislature dealt with two important bills on animal welfare this session: a bill to increase penalties for poaching (House Bill 4046) and a bill to "ratify" the decision to take wolves off of Oregon's endangered species list (House Bill 4040). The poaching bill passed (good), but so did the wolf bill (bad). As of this writing, both bills were still waiting for signature by Governor Kate Brown, at which point they will become laws. If you haven't already, please call Governor Brown (503.378.4582) and urge her to sign HB 4046 but to veto HB 4040. Please see our prior posts for more information on these bills.