SACRAMENTO – Yesterday, two of Assemblymember Richard Bloom’s (D-Santa Monica) bills, AB 1535 which would expand access to the lifesaving opiate overdose reversal medication, naloxone hydrochloride and AB 2657, which would ban the use of certain anticoagulant rodenticides in environmentally sensitive areas, passed their respective first committees. Meanwhile, Assemblymember Bloom’s landmark legislation to phase out orca captivity in California was sent to an interim study for further review.
AB 1535, which allows pharmacists to distribute naloxone to whomever expresses a need for access, such as persons at risk of an opiate overdose or their friends and family, passed the Assembly Committee on Business, Professions and Consumer Protection on a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 14-0.
“Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in California, killing more people than car accidents or gunshots,” said Bloom. “The opioid overdose epidemic knows no boundaries – it is affecting communities all across the state. Age, race, class, gender, urban, rural – the deaths are across the board.”
Drug overdose is a public health crisis that urgently needs to be addressed. In 2009, more than 3,500 Californians died unnecessarily from an accidental drug overdose. According to the Attorney General Eric Holder, between 2006 and 2010, heroin overdose deaths have increased by 45 percent nationwide. Research published by the US Centers for Disease Control and other federal health agencies shows that laypersons with naloxone can immediately reverse a potentially fatal overdose in addition to calling paramedics. AB 1535 will enable pharmacists to distribute this lifesaving medication when it is needed.
“Naloxone has been proven to be extraordinarily effective and safe when used as an overdose reversal agent. It’s non-addictive and safe to administer. It is logical that allowing highly trained pharmacists to furnish naloxone pursuant to standardized protocols will improve access for families,” added Bloom.
The bill will next go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and could be heard there by the end of the month.
AB 2657, which prohibits the use of rodenticides or products containing certain second-generation anticoagulants in environmentally sensitive areas, such as state parks, passed the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials on a 4-2 vote.
“Anticoagulants can have very negative effects on the local animals and plants that encounter them,” said Bloom. “Therefore, it is essential that our wildlife and ecosystems are protected from these harmful substances.”
Anticoagulant exposure interferes with blood clotting, resulting in uncontrollable bleeding and death, even from a single feeding. Exposure can ripple through the food chain, spreading from smaller animals to the predators that feed upon them. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has documented anticoagulant poisoning in at least 25 wildlife species in California alone, including foxes, black bears, and owls.
Second generation anti-coagulant rodenticides were identified as the possible source, as the bobcats were eating rodents who had consumed the poison and then would die. This prompted the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy, Puente Hills Habitat Preservation Authority, and Joshua Tree National Park to contact Assemblymember Bloom late last year after he authored the Bobcat Protection Act which dealt with excessive trapping.
The bill will now head to the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife for a vote later this month.
AB 2140, the landmark legislation that would phase out orca captivity in California by ending captive breeding programs as well as end and performance-based entertainment, was sent to a an interim study by the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. The decision to move the bill to an interim study delays a vote on legislation for at least another year. The changes sought by the legislation would be the most comprehensive protections laws for orcas in captivity in the United States in over 40 years.
“The public support for ending orca captivity has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Bloom. “However, the issues are complex and the committee took the responsible approach to make sure we have the answers to all questions before we move forward. Moving this to an interim study will allow us to demonstrate that the science supports ending orca captivity and to clear up the gross misconceptions that have been thrown into the debate. I am confident that once the facts are thoroughly reviewed, legislation phasing out orca captivity will prevail.”
For years, the scientific community has raised serious concerns about having orcas in captivity. However, after the tragic death of a SeaWorld trainer in Florida and another trainer at a theme park in Spain, the public has begun to question the moral justification for keeping orcas in captivity.
After humans, killer whales are thought to be the most socially and ecologically complex species on the planet. Scientists studying killer whales in the wild have documented the close social bonds these animals share. In fact orcas stay with their mothers their entire lives and their life trajectories are similar, in many ways, to humans. For example, orcas nurse for up to two years, reach sexual maturity around fourteen years, males reach social maturity around 20 years of age, females go through menopause between 40-45 years of age, males live between 60-70 years, and females between 80-90 years.
As top predators, their cooperative hunting techniques and unique vocalizations demonstrate highly evolved learned behavior. Yet captive orcas are almost solely used for performing or breeding to maintain stocks at amusement parks. They are separated from their offspring, live in pods that are artificial and made up of unrelated individuals, and live their entire lives in concrete tanks that are only a fraction of the size of their natural habitat.
Furthermore, many scientists agree that captive display of orcas has limited or no conservation benefit for orcas in the wild. Captive breeding techniques have had limited success and application.
Joining Assemblyman Bloom in support of the bill were Naomi Rose, Ph.D., Marine Mammal Scientist with the Animal Welfare Institute, Dr. Debbie Giles, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology at the University of California, Davis, and John Hargrove, a former orca trainer at SeaWorld.
CONTACT: Sean MacNeil or Meredith McNamee, (916) 319-2050
