These new California laws will protect animals in 2020, and could change the way you shop
California animal rights activists scored big wins in the Capitol this year, when they advocated for a slate of new protections for four-legged critters.
In part due to the efforts of groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Social Compassion in Legislation, California lawmakers voted to ban the use of most circus performing animals, ban both recreational and commercial fur trapping, and ban the sale of many types of exotic animal skins in the Golden State.
“With each of these wins, it gets us more strength,” said Judie Mancuso, founder of Social Compassion in Legislation, who added her group is poised to enter 2020 with more political capital.
This year marked several “historic victories for animals,” said PETA spokeswoman Catie Cryar.
Here’s a rundown of animal activists’ big wins, some of their losses, as well as a preview of what they have in store for 2020.
No more circus animals
You won’t see any more dancing bears or performing elephants, at least not in California.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that bans circuses from using most animals in their performances. The law carves out an exception for dogs, cats and horses.
It also defines circuses as “a performance before a live audience in which entertainment consisting of a variety of acts such as acrobats, aerialists, clowns, jugglers, or stunts is the primary attraction or principal business.”
One of America’s most famous circuses, Ringling Bros., ended its traveling show in 2017, shortly after it bowed to public pressure and ended its use of performing elephants.
No more fur
In September, California became the first state in the nation to ban both recreational and commercial fur trapping. Previously, the state in 2015 banned the trapping of bobcats.
In addition to the prohibition on trapping animals such as gray foxes, coyotes and beavers, the law prohibits the purchase and sale of “products or handicraft items made from fur-bearing mammals and non-game mammals lawfully taken under the authority of a trapping license.”
State-sanctioned trapping, such as the effort to trap and eliminate the invasive nutria from the Central Valley, remains legal.
Newsom also signed a bill banning the sale of fur products in the state.
Say goodbye to alligator boots and handbags
Animal activists also celebrated the re-institution of a ban on alligator and crocodile products in the state. Beginning Jan. 1, it will be a misdemeanor to import or sell such items in California.
In addition, other species that will be added to the protected list in January 2022 include caimans, hippopotamuses, iguanas, skinks and three other varieties of lizard, “thereby sparing countless animals the agony of being raised on filthy farms, beaten, electrocuted, skinned alive, and otherwise abused and killed for fashion,” said Cryar.
Already, the state bans importation and sale of products from such animals as dolphins, elephants, kangaroos, wolves and zebras.
No more testing cosmetics on animals
Effective Jan. 1, it will be illegal for cosmetics companies to import or sell products in California that have been tested on animals. Former Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law in late 2018.
The law has some limitations: It applies only to products manufactured on or after Jan. 1, 2020. Existing products are exempt from the restriction.
The most populous state banning cosmetics tested on animals will have major ripples, Mancuso said.
“Now with California coming on board, the fifth largest economy, that’s a game-changer,” she said.
Canine blood banks
While animal activists recorded some major wins in 2019, several efforts fell short, with Newsom’s veto stopping some bills from becoming law.
One such bill would have mandated that shelters microchip any dog or cat that comes in, before the animal can be reclaimed by an owner or adopted out.
Newsom said he supported the effort, but added that making microchipping mandatory before an owner can reclaim a pet “has the unintended consequence of creating a burden for those who may already be struggling with the basic costs of caring for their pets,” according to his veto statement.
Another bill that met Newsom’s veto pen was one that would have created a framework for commercial animal blood banks to collect community-sourced blood.
In this case, Newsom felt the bill didn’t go far enough. He called for the Legislature to send him a bill that would phase out privately owned animal blood colonies, where animals are kept in cages as their blood is harvested.
Another bill that fell short was one that would have banned animal dissections in K-12 schools. That bill died in committee.
What does 2020 hold?
Activists are preparing for when the Legislature reconvenes in 2020.
That includes new versions of the bills Newsom vetoed. It also means bringing back the animal dissection bill.
Social Compassion in Legislation also has plans for new bills to introduce in the coming year.
One such bill would reform horse racing in the Golden State. Three dozen horses have died at the Santa Anita racetrack since December 2018, according to CBS News.
While polling for an outright racing ban was tepid, Mancuso said, support for reform was “in the high 70s.”
Mancuso said her group also wants to change how the Department of Fish and Wildlife issues mountain lion depredation permits. She said it’s currently too easy for ranchers “to just go out and shoot them.”
“There has to be a much higher bar to why you would ever shoot such a majestic animal,” Mancuso said.
This story was originally published December 21, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "These new California laws will protect animals in 2020, and could change the way you shop."
