The Governor ended the ‘cruel and unnecessary testing on dogs and cats, among other measures to protect the health and safety of pets in California’

California has become the first US state to ban harmful chemical testing on cats and dogs for consumer products

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law as part of a larger initiative focused on animal welfare.

The ruling will take effect on 1 January 2023 and will outlaw unnecessary toxicity testing of pesticides, chemical substances, and other toxic products that could potentially be tested on these animals.

The legislation was authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States.

The groundbreaking Prohibiting Extraneous Testing Act (PET), as it has been named, however, will not apply to products intended for use on dogs and cats including medicines, such as anesthesia and cancer treatment.

‘Ending cruel and unnecessary testing’

“For many families, including my own, pets are beloved companions that enrich our lives every day,” Newsom said.

 “I’m proud to sign this legislation to advance our state’s leadership on animal welfare by ending cruel and unnecessary testing on dogs and cats, among other measures to protect the health and safety of pets in California.”

Weiner in a statement added: “Animal testing that has no scientific value and causes terrible pain and suffering is inhumane, unnecessary, and cruel.

“The PET Act protects cats and dogs from this type of testing and helps these animals live long healthy lives.”

.@GavinNewsom just signed our legislation (SB 879) to ban toxicity tests on dogs & cats for consumer products — eg shoving pesticide down a dog’s throat every day for a year to see what happens.

These tests are barbaric.

Thank you, Governor, & also to our sponsor @HumaneSociety

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) September 26, 2022

Animal rescue and advocacy groups also welcomed the decision.

According to the Humane Society, the new law will spare the lives of about 60,000 dogs annually, which are subjected to these harmful and unnecessary testing in government, university, commercial and private industry laboratories.

Kitty Block, chief executive of the US arm, said: “As we celebrate California becoming the first state in the nation to prohibit certain testing on dogs and cats, we extend our gratitude to Governor Newsom for signing The PET Act, SB 879, into law.”

California and animal welfare

So far, California, with Newsom as its Governor, has been at the forefront of the humane treatment of animals.

In his tenure, Newsom has also signed bills banning the sale of new fur products and prohibiting the use of animals like elephants and bears for entertainment in circuses.

In 2020, he allocated $50 million of the state’s budget for funding research at UC Davis on finding ways to end euthanasia in shelters.

• Read: Petition for an EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics racks up over 1.4 million signatures

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