Oregon Legislature Crosses Halfway Mark
- Brian Posewitz
- May 3
- 5 min read
The Oregon Legislature is more than halfway through its 2025 session, which began in January and will continue through June. Numerous animal-related bills were introduced, with many failing to meet a deadline (April 9) for most bills to either move forward or die, but many important bills are still alive. (See the illustration above for the typical path of a bill though the Oregon Legislature.)
Here is the status of some key animal-related bills we have been following and weighing in on:
Good Bills Still Alive
HB 3020 would prohibit betting on dog races (primarily greyhound racing), regardless of where the race occurs. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have approved this bill, which now needs only approval from Governor Kotek. The Oregon Legislature previously made dog racing illegal in Oregon, but businesses licensed through the Oregon Racing Commission, a state agency, are one of the primary ways that people can still bet on animal races, including dog races, in other states and foreign countries. By facilitating betting on dog races, Oregon has helped enable an industry that abuses and neglects dogs by confining them in cramped quarters and subjecting them to drugs and injuries. HB 3020 will end that. Thanks to everyone who helped support this bill by submitting comments in response to our action alert in January!
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. This bill has been approved by a House committee but needs action from the Joint Committee on Ways & Means to move forward.
HB 3143 would fund nonlethal approaches to human-wildlife conflict specifically with respect to beavers. This bill also has been approved by a House committee but needs action from the Joint Committee on Ways & Means.
HB 3932 would ban recreational and commercial hunting and trapping of beavers on public lands in watersheds with water quality problems. This would be good for the streams because beaver dams have been shown to improve watershed health, in part by improving water quality. It would also be good for the beavers because fewer of them would be killed for sport and their fur. The House has passed the bill. A Senate committee will hold a public hearing on it at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 6.
HB 2977 would increase increase the transient lodging tax (from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent) to help fund wildlife conservation work by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. This bill is waiting for a public hearing in the House Committee on Revenue.
HB 2978 would improve state efforts to provide for wildlife highway crossings to prevent vehicle-wildlife collisions that harm both animals and people. This bill has been passed by the House and Senate and now needs only approval from Governor Kotek.
Bad Bills Still Alive
HB 2403 would bring back special taxing districts that raise money for "predator control" that kill cougars, bears, coyotes and many other animals, often with cruel methods such as traps, snares, gassing and shooting from helicopters and planes. (For detailed information on this bill, see the written testimony we submitted as part of the Oregon Wildlife Coalition.) This bill has been approved by one House Committee and is now in the House Committee on Revenue. Thanks to everyone who contacted their legislators to oppose this bill in response to our action alerts. Please do so if you haven't already, especially if your state Representative is on the House Committee on Revenue. (Go here to see who your legislators are.)
Bad Bills That Died
Several bills (HB 3153, SB 349, SB 412 and SB 769) would have allowed resumed hunting of cougars with dogs (having dogs chase the cougars until they climb a tree for a hunter to shoot at close range), which Oregon banned by ballot measure in 1994. After a public hearing one of the bills, they all died without moving forward.
HB 3124 and SB 776 would have directed more killing of cougars and coyotes to supposedly increase deer and elk populations. Thankfully, these bills died without a hearing.
HB 2691 would have prohibited plant-based food labels from implying they are made of meat or eggs, directed some state agencies not to purchase plant-based foods, and excluded plant-based foods from certain food programs. This bill also died without a hearing.
Good Bills That Died
HB 2557 would haved banned raising and selling farmed octopus for human consumption. We supported this bill because octopuses are highly intelligent animals and should not become another animal subject to the extreme confinement and other inhumane conditions of factory farming. This bill received a public hearing but did not advance after that.
SB 80 would have prohibited new and expanding large confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in areas with known groundwater contamination. We supported this bill to better protect groundwater from manure pollution and because large CAFOs are particularly bad for animal welfare. This bill also received a public hearing but did not advance after that.
HB 2970 would have banned the hunting of bobcat and lynx with dogs. 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. This bill did not receive a public hearing.
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 Still Do
To help support the good bills that are still alive and need further approval, and oppose the 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 let you know of strategic times to comment on the pending legislation we consider most important. (Look for alerts soon to help beavers and support funding for wildlife conservation.)
Thank you for helping us advocate for animals!
