Six-hundred-twenty MEPs from the European Parliament have voted in support of pioneering a global cosmetics animal testing ban.
The vote was in response to a petition, delivered by The Body Shop and Cruelty Free International, asking The European Union (EU) to actively lead the way for a worldwide ban on cosmetic animal testing. The petition gained the support and signatures of many influential celebrities such as actor and animal activist Ricky Gervais, Joanna Lumley, environmentalist Dr. Jane Goodall, and Pixie Geldof.
The EU banned the sale of cosmetics that had been tested on animals five years ago, sparking other nations, including South Korea, India, and New Zealand, to impose similar bans.
“The EU ban has demonstrated that it is possible to have a healthy, thriving cosmetics market without the need for animal testing and today’s positive vote will take us a big step closer to an international agreement,” stated The Body Shop’s Head of Global Campaigns, Jessie Macneil-Brown.
Cosmetic animal testing is prevalent across the majority of the globe, although cheaper, more efficient, and more effective alternative testing methods are well-developed and accessible.
“Tragically, despite the availability of approved non-animal tests and existing ingredients safe for human use, there are still no laws banning animal tests for cosmetics products and ingredients in 80% of the world. We estimate that over half a million animals – from rabbits to mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters – are still used annually in cruel and unnecessary cosmetics testing worldwide,” noted Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International.
“Five years after the full EU bans, the time is right to go one step further. The leadership that MEPs have shown by adopting this resolution deserves much credit. Now it’s time to work together to deliver a global end to cosmetics animal testing and eliminate animal suffering around the world,” added Thew.
In addition, The Body Shop is running a Forever Against Animal Testing campaign, thus far, the campaign is already the single-largest effort to end cosmetic animal testing. Forever Against Animal Testing has the support of 5.7 million people, and upon gathering 8 million signatures, the organization will deliver the campaign to the United Nations and push to implement due actions to end the practice, for good.
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This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 7:09 am