SoCal Activists Celebrate 2018's Animal Rights Victories

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – Southern California animal-rights supporters celebrated a year of important legislative achievements Saturday evening at a celebrity-studded event in West Hollywood.

"Sunset on Sunset" was moderated by civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom and journalist Jane Velez-Mitchell, and also honored the work of local and statewide activists who championed such legislation as AB 485, which bans the sale of mill-bred dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores in California.

Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz presented billionaire John Paul DeJoria, the co-founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems, an official proclamation from the city for his philanthropic work. A "cruelty-free" pioneer, DeJoria launched his flagship Paul Mitchell hair-care brand in 1980 without testing any products on animals – a commitment the company has continued for nearly 40 years.

Other honorees included state Sen. Nancy Skinner; Linda Middlesworth, founder of VeganMentor and V DOG food; and Genesis Butler, a 12- year-old animal rights activist, the youngest Tedx speaker to date and recipient of the Animal Hero Kids' Sir Paul McCartney Young Veg Advocate award, Vegan Kid of the Year award from Vegans Are Cool and PETA's Kid of the Year Award.

Among the celebrities scheduled to appear at the event were artist Harley Quinn Smith, actresses Alison Eastwood, Taylor Blackwell and Amitis Ariano, comedian Whitney Cummings, the rock band OTEP, model Gianna Simone, radio personality Haze Lynn and Joanna Krupa, host and head judge of "Top Model: Poland" and featured on "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Real Housewives of Miami."

"Sunset on Sunset" was put on by the group Social Compassion in Legislation, founded in 2007 by Judie Mancuso of Laguna Beach, a former member of the California Veterinary Medical Board.

Besides AB 485, other animal welfare legislation passed by the state Legislature in 2018 included:

– SB 1249, the California Cruelty-Free Cosmetic Act, which requires that cosmetics sold in California are not tested on animals by the manufacturer, their suppliers, nor any third party contracted by the manufacturer or their suppliers starting in 2020

– SB 1138, the Plant Based Meal Options, which requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to make plant-based meals available to inmates under its jurisdiction and requires specified licensed health care facilities to make plant-based meals available to patients.

City News Service contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock