The Oregon Legislature began its 2025 session on January 13 and will continue its deliberations through June. Numerous animal-related bills have already been introduced, with more expected as the session continues.
Here are some of the animal-related bills we are currently tracking and plan to weigh in on:
Good Bills We Support
House Bill (HB) 3020 would prohibit betting on dog races, regardless of where the race occurs. The Oregon Legislature previously made it illegal to have commercial dog races in Oregon, but businesses licensed through the Oregon Racing Commission, a state agency, have become one of the primary hubs for betting on animal races, including dog races (primarily greyhound races), in other states and countries. HB 3020 would end that. The bill is scheduled for a public hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday, January 30, before the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection. We support this bill because commercial dog racing abuses and neglects the dogs and confines them in inhumane conditions.
HB 2980 would create a "wildlife stewardship" program in Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to promote nonlethal management of human-wildlife conflict and support wildlife rehabilitation centers. We support this bill because it would lead to more humane treatment of wildlife.
HB 3143 would fund nonlethal approaches to human-wildlife conflict specifically with respect to beavers. We support this bill because it would lead to more humane treatment of beavers and because beavers build dams that create habitat for fish and other wildlife.
HB 2557 would ban raising and selling farmed octopus for human consumption. We support the bill because octopus are highly intelligent animals that should not be subject to the extreme confinement and other conditions required for octopus farming.
Senate Bill (SB) 80 would prohibit new and expanding large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in groundwater management areas. We support the bill to better protect groundwater from manure pollution and because large CAFOs are particularly bad for animal welfare.
HB 2970 would extend the ban on hunting cougars with dogs to bobcat and lynx. We support the bill because hunting these animals with dogs, by having the dogs chase the animals until they climb a tree or otherwise becomes cornered for hunters to shoot, is particularly inhumane and does not give the animals a fair chance.
Bad Bills We Oppose
Several bills (HB 3153, SB 349, SB 412 and SB 769) would allow hunting cougars with dogs, by having the dogs chase the cougars until they climb a tree or otherwise becomes cornered for hunters to shoot, which was banned by ballot measure in 1994. We oppose the bills because hunting cougars with dogs is particularly inhumane and does not give the cougars a fair chance.
Several bills would lead to more killing of wildlife believed to interfere with agriculture, damage property or reduce the number of "game" animals for hunters to shoot. HB 2403 and SB 333 would bring back special taxing districts to raise money for "predator control" programs that kill cougars, bears and coyotes, often with cruel methods such as traps, snares, gassing and shooting from helicopters and planes, to protect agriculture and private property. HB 3124 and SB 776 would direct the state to kill cougars and coyotes to increase deer and elk populations. We oppose all of these bills because the additional killing of wildlife would be inhumane and ineffective at achieving the stated goals.
HB 2691 would prohibit plant-based food labels from implying they are made of meat or eggs, would direct certain state agencies to not purchase plant-based foods, and would exclude plant-based foods from certain food programs. Overall, the bill would restrict the sale and marketing of plant-based foods. We oppose the bill because plant-based foods help promote sustainability and humane treatment of animals.
For a complete list of the bills we are tracking, our positions, and the reasons for our positions, go here. To see the full text of a bill, along with the legislators who sponsored it, the history of the bill, scheduled proceedings on the bill and other information, click on the bill number in our list (or the bill number above).
What You Can Do
To help support good bills for animals, and oppose bad ones, please contract your state legislators and let them know which bills you support and oppose. You can send them a link to this post or write to them about the specific bills you care about the most. To find out who your state legislators are and get their contact information, click here and enter your address (you have one state representative and one state senator). When you write or call your legislators, be sure to let them know you are a "constituent," meaning you live in the area they represent and vote on whether they are elected or not.
Please also watch for our email alerts. We will also let you know of other strategic times to comment on the pending legislation we consider most important.
Thank you for helping us advocate for animals!