A bill lowering state barriers to meat rabbit production in Oregon spurred by Chase Myatt, a young farmer near Baker City, is making bipartisan headway in the state Legislature. Recent discussions about the legislation have prompted a proposal to expand the state's humane slaughter law to include rabbits.

A bill meant to reduce barriers for small-scale rabbit meat production has also sparked a proposal to expand Oregon’s humane slaughter law.

On-farm slaughter of 1,000 rabbits a year would be permitted without a state meat processor’s license under House Bill 2689, which has won bipartisan support among lawmakers.

The bill is scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor this week after a key committee recommended its approval. It already passed the House with a 56-1 majority.

State law contains a licensing exemption for the slaughter of up 1,000 poultry per year, as long as the meat is also sold on-farm directly to consumers, and HB 2689 would extend those rules to rabbits.

The bill was spurred by teenage farmer Chase Myatt, who wants to expand his meat rabbit operation near Baker City but is limited to a slaughter facility three hours away that’s only available in summer.

While being considered by the Senate Natural Resources Committee, the bill encountered opposition from animal welfare advocates — largely because rabbits aren’t covered by the state’s humane slaughter law.

The statute requires that cattle, sheep, horses and swine be rendered unconscious before processing or being killed as part of a religious ritual in which they’re bled out through carotid arteries in the neck.

Rabbits are overlooked in animal welfare discussions but they’re highly sensitive and deserve a minimum of protections, said Scott Beckstead, director of campaigns for Animal Wellness Action and an affiliated organization, the Center for a Humane Economy.

Beckstead said he’s nonetheless sympathetic to arguments for on-farm slaughter because it’s more humane than shipping livestock to processing facilities.

“Every food animal should be spared the stress of transportation,” he said. “Often the transportation is the worst part of the slaughter process.”

Brian Posewitz, director of Humane Voters of Oregon, said his organization is concerned about increasing the use of rabbits for meat when they’re often treated as pets.

If the bill is meant to encourage more slaughter of rabbits, then they should first be protected under the state’s humane slaughter statute, Posewitz said.

“We believe at least those requirements should be in place before any law is passed to make it easier to raise and kill rabbits for food,” he said.

Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, said he would not object to adding rabbits to the state’s humane slaughter law.

However, adding that provision to HB 2689 isn’t possible for legal reasons, since the “relating to” clause that describes the bill’s subject is considered too narrow for broader statutory changes.

Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, told the Senate Natural Resources Committee he’ll seek to amend another bill with a broader “relating to” clause to expand the humane slaughter statute.

That proposal, House Bill 2907, is also sponsored by Owens and has already passed the House Agriculture Committee unanimously.

The bill would increase grant funding for meat processing facilities and is currently under consideration by budget-setting Joint Ways and Means Committee.