Senator Wiener Reintroduces the PET Act, Ending Harmful and Unnecessary Chemical Testing on Dogs and Cats

SACRAMENTO - Today, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) reintroduced legislation, Senate Bill 879, also known as the PET (Prohibiting Extraneous Testing) Act. 

The PET Act ends the suffering of cats and dogs by prohibiting these household pets from being used in toxicity tests for products such as pesticides, chemical substances and food additives. This bill includes exemptions for testing for the development of products intended for use in dogs or cats including anesthesia, cancer treatment, animal vaccines, other animal medicines, or flea and tick products. Additionally, SB 879 does not impact testing required by federal laws or regulations

The use of animals to test substances intended for human use is unreliable, does not truly ensure human safety, and has serious scientific limitations. For example, nearly 90 percent of drugs first tested on animals end up failing when subsequently tested on people, with about half failing due to unanticipated toxicity when tested on humans. Much of the current toxicity testing on these animals is inhumane, unnecessary, and ultimately does not further scientific research on toxicity in humans. 

Toxicity testing exposes animals to chemicals (including industrial and consumer products, and food additives) as an attempt to understand what harms may be caused to humans by these chemicals. This testing is frequently excruciatingly painful for animals. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, this testing varies in duration, and animals are observed for toxic effects including: vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, respiratory distress, appetite or weight loss, rashes, salivation, paralysis, lethargy, bleeding, organ abnormalities, tumors, and even death. 

In California, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2020 there were approximately 950 dogs used in research and testing  located in 18 different facilities across the state. These canines are bred to live their entire lives confined in laboratory settings and are forced to undergo research and product testing that can include situations in which chemicals are forced down a dog’s throat or into their lungs. Some tests may involve intentionally administering a chemical over a prolonged period to determine the lethality of the substance, causing slow and painful deaths. SB 879 will prohibit those tests for certain products and ensure that cats are not subject to the same conditions.

The PET Act prohibits this unnecessary and harmful testing, while allowing for testing involving products for pets, and testing required by federal agencies. 

The PET Act is sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States.

“Dogs and cats should not have to undergo unnecessary testing, especially when it is so often highly painful and irreversibly harmful,” said Senator Scott Wiener. “That’s why I’m reintroducing the PET Act. Animals need people to fight for them, and that’s what SB 879 will do.”

“Subjecting dogs and cats to toxicity testing for pesticides, food additives and other chemicals involves force-feeding animals with large quantities of these substances and has little scientific basis, while causing immense suffering,” said Kathleen Conlee, Vice President of Animal Research Issues at the Humane Society of the United States. “SB 879 will end the unnecessary testing of these products on dogs and cats - a policy supported by an overwhelming majority of Californians. We are grateful to Senator Wiener for championing this effort.”