CAMPAIGNING TO PROTECT ANIMAL LIFE AND LIBERTY
Our Current Initiatives
"Power is never the property of an individual; it belongs to a group and remains in existence only so long as the group keeps together."
~ Hannah Arendt
As laid out in our Articles of Incorporation, the National Animal Life and Liberty Association may engage in any nonviolent activity in furtherance of securing local, state, and national protection for sentient animals' life and liberty. This can include public education, research, litigation, community organizing, coalition building, legislative advocacy, supporting or opposing candidates for public office, and supporting or opposing initiative petitions and ballot measures. To see specifically what we are currently planning to pursue or actively working on, check out the list of initiatives below.
As a membership association, the first and primary action we plan to undertake is to request others join so that we can grow our capacity for future efforts. It was Tocqueville, in his 1835 work Democracy in America, who wrote that when individuals are seeking social change, "they look out for mutual assistance, and as soon as they have found one another out, they combine. From that moment, they are no longer isolated individuals but a power seen from afar." We want to see the growth of our association follow a trajectory inspired by the great associations in the past. When the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) reached their peak, they had over 2 million members. It took decades to get there, but they were persistent in their efforts.
Prior to the founding of this association, our core members had been working diligently on statewide ballot initiative campaigns for the 2026, 2024, and 2022 Oregon elections. Over these few election cycles, we've built tools that we didn't know we'd need and learned lessons that we could have never anticipated. Before starting on our next campaign in full, we want to review all the systems we developed and reflect on what we'll need to launch a new initiative. This work will include putting together documentation and tools that can be disseminated to activists across the country who might find themselves inspired to launch their own initiatives.
Although our organization has not yet filed a new initiative in Oregon, we plan to begin the work of fundraising for future initiatives so that we have the resources ready. One of the most critical reasons why IP28 did not qualify for the ballot in 2026 was that we did not have sufficient funding secured prior to the start of signature collection. This directly lead to a nearly 6-month slowdown after spending our initial funds while we worked to find individuals and organizations willing to give additional support to our efforts.
In response to IP28, there are efforts attempting to make it more difficult to protect an animal's life and liberty in the future. Our association plans to work, alongside other animal advocacy organizations willing to come together, to make sure the public is aware of what impact these responses could have if enacted.