CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Animal Rights Bill Wins OK in Senate

The Senate passed and sent to the governor a controversial “animal rights” bill that would ban certain forms of animal experimentation used by some cosmetics companies to test product safety. Gov. George Deukmejian has not yet taken a stand on the bill, which passed in the Senate 25 to 8. The legislation by Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) would make it a misdemeanor to employ two widely used forms of animal testing. However, medical research would be exempted from the bill’s provisions. In the Draize test, such products as shampoo, soap or lipstick are applied to rabbits’ eyes to determine the effect on human eyes. The Skin Irritancy Test consists of applying the cosmetic to the rabbit’s skin.