Life with Darci

Okay, I know this is going to probably get some hate. Recently I have had a few conversations about Oregon’s Initiative Petition 28 (IP28). This is called the PEACE Act, People for the Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions.

✨The fundamental goal of the PEACE Act is to treat all animals—including livestock, wildlife, and laboratory animals—the same as companion pets under Oregon’s animal cruelty laws. It attempts to do this by removing current legal exemptions that allow for the intentional injury or killing of animals in specific contexts.✨- Google Gemini

I’m sure you’re going to read this on my site and think, what a hypocrite. Darci, you’re a vegetarian who preached all the PETA stuff, and was even a hardcore vegan for a hot minute… If you know me, you’d know that I used to raise my own cattle for beef, I absolutely hate the commercial farming industry. My boyfriend is an avid hunter, and does everything he can to do so humanely. I’ve fostered dogs for the animal shelter. I’ve taken in a pet turtle that someone found wandering the streets, btw it was an African mud turtle, so I know it wasn’t a local resident. Heck, I’ve even stopped to pick up turtles on the highway, to get them across the street safely. Even when I was in Costa Rica and the tide was going out, I picked up as many beached fish as I could to throw back into the ocean. I want you to know that I’m on the side of getting rid of cruelty to animals. If you saw my last blog post that talks about octopus, you know that I know animals are more intelligent than we give them credit for and don’t deserve to suffer.

👆Just a peek into some of my past social sharings… 🫣

I’ll be honest, I mostly try to stay away from politics, but this one peaked my interest for obvious reasons. I love animals. I hopped on Google Gemini and asked about it because that seemed more productive to me than to filter thru all of the feelers sharing their thoughts. Mind blown over here to say the least… Below I’ve kinda outlined my understanding of what I found.

Proposed Changes

Obviously I am against animal cruelty, and a lot of the things I can say seem like great ways to end that, but I am also able to see more sides than mine.

• Slaughter and Food Production – Good bye beef production. Good bye milk.
• Hunting, Fishing, and Trapping – No trapping of those pesky raccoons or opossums. Forget fishing in our beautiful rivers.
• Breeding Practices – No fancy bull dogs, because they can’t procreate themselves.
• Research and Education – I can’t say that I object to this, that means no more testing on animals.
• Pest Control – No killing of mice or rats. Restaurants always have pests… whatcha gonna do?

What Is Legal Then?

I see lots of wiggle room with these two legalities.

1. Self-Defense: If an animal is threatening you, you can kill it.
2. Veterinary Care: If the medical care is in the best interest of the animal…

Who decides what is right?

This is one of the things that irks me the most. As a society we are so up in arms with each other that we can’t see how our choices might affect others. I can’t say that I want to see animals tested on, and I also can’t say that I really see a purpose for breeding animals who can’t breed themselves. BUT…

Did you know that neutering and spaying is considered a breeding practice? Who decides that neutering by a licensed veterinarian isn’t cruel?

Did you know that Oregon’s livestock industry is a multi-billion dollar industry? Not just for our consumption but exporting it too. If we make it hard on them, where are they gonna go? They’ll leave the state, and then we will be paying higher dollar amounts for all of the meat, eggs, dairy, and fish to be imported to our grocery stores. Not only would it affect the animal farmers, it would hurt all of the industries around that. Where would all of Eastern Oregon’s hay go? Even if they transition away from livestock farming, who pays for that? The government? Isn’t the state already struggling financially? Does that mean our taxes will go up? Also, how long is a handout going to last? Sure the big commercial farms can likely take a hit, but what about our neighbors who ethically raise their animals, and humanely slaughter them? Or even the families who raise animals to feed their families? I doubt food stamps will cover that cost for them.

Did you know that hunters, and anglers, actually play a huge role in conservation? The conservation efforts that go into tracking animal wellbeing in the wild are funded by the fees hunters pay. The permits are also very well managed so that animal populations aren’t over grazing areas and affecting other animals in the wild. They even reduce the numbers of permits given to help keep the populations up if areas start showing low numbers, even track diseases that spread thru different herds. Something I actually found to be kind of interesting is the grizzly population increase where I live. Did you know that it’s illegal to kill a grizzly unless it’s proven that you were in imminent danger? The population of bears around Yellowstone have become so large that they are now starting to affect elk numbers. Wild horses in certain areas are starting to become so huge in numbers that they are damaging the lands and affecting ecosystems. I’m not saying we should just go willy nilly and put all these animals down, but who decides what is right?

As my little dog ages, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I was living back home again. Thankfully she is a healthy old lady, but what if she wasn’t? Would this new law specify that I’d have to wait until her life is unbearable to go on? Would I have to watch her suffer? I have a feeling if this law passes, the popularity of Oregon might go down.

So, Oregon? What do we do? The world is watching…