Rabbits are docile, loveable animals who we view as companions. Unfortunately, they, along with guinea pigs, mice, and rats, are still used for cosmetics testing for products like lipstick, toothpaste, lotion, and shampoo. In fact, approximately 500,000 animals suffer and die worldwide every year due to cosmetic testing where substances are forced down animals’ throats, dripped into their eyes, or smeared onto their skin, and they are left to suffer for days or weeks without pain relief.
Photo by Paul Morigi/AP Images for the HSUS
HSLF President Sara Amundson, left, and
Rep. Tony Cárdenas, right, with bunnies
Paxton and Andre
That is why the Humane Society Legislative Fund, along with Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif), hosted a bunny awareness event on Capitol Hill yesterday where we provided educational tools on how consumers can become more aware of cruelty free cosmetics while also interacting with some adorable rabbits available for adoption at local rescue groups. Staff and volunteers from Friends of Rabbits, a Baltimore/Washington D.C.-based rescue group, and Last Chance Animal Rescue, based in Waldorf, MD, brought about a dozen adoptable rabbits to the event. Hundreds of Congressional staffers came by to meet the rabbits and learn more about humane cosmetics.
Over the last 20 years, cosmetics companies have significantly reduced their use of animal testing in favor of alternative test methods and strategies, which are generally more cost-effective and predictive of human health and safety. Because species respond differently when exposed to the same chemicals, results from animal tests may not be indicative of how they will affect humans. In addition, results from animal tests can be variable and difficult to interpret. Unreliable and ineffective animal tests mean consumer safety cannot be guaranteed.
“It’s well past time we begin moving away from cruel and inhumane animal testing, and move towards alternative, sound scientific methods that do not involve harming animals like dogs, cats, and rabbits. I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to push federal agencies to move away from unnecessary painful testing and adopt more humane methods that result in beneficial outcomes.” -Congressman Tony Cárdenas
In order to remain competitive in a changing global market, the American cosmetics industry will need to adopt humane testing methods as many other countries have banned the sale of cosmetics that have been newly tested on animals.
In 2012, HSLF, the Humane Society of the United States, and Humane Society International launched the global #BeCrueltyFree campaign with the goal of extending the EU ban to cosmetics animal testing and trade around the world.
In 2013, the European Union (EU) became the world’s largest cruelty-free cosmetics marketplace when it finalized a ban on using animal tests to determine the safety of cosmetics and the sale of cosmetics tested on animals. This ban compelled cosmetics companies around the world to end animal testing and invest in the development of alternatives in order to sell in the EU.
As a result, similar bans were enacted in Israel, Norway, India, and Switzerland. More than 1.8 billion people can now buy cosmetics that will never be tested on animals again.
Significant support for more accurate and humane testing for cosmetics is also found here in the United States. State legislatures are hopping on board to end animal testing for cosmetics. California, Nevada, and Illinois became the first states to pass laws to prohibit the sale of animal-tested cosmetics. As California is the fifth largest economy in the world, it only follows that we should have a federal law.
It is time for Congress to take action to ensure that all cosmetics produced and sold in the United States are free from new animal testing. The Humane Cosmetics Act, which would prohibit the production and sale of animal-tested cosmetics, had strong bipartisan support in the last Congress, including from Congressman Cardenas and 186 other House members. In addition, close to 300 stakeholders in the cosmetics industry, including Paul Mitchell, Coty, Lush, and The Body Shop, have endorsed the legislation.
We are nearing reintroduction of the bill with leaders from the 115th Congress. Please contact your members of Congress (you can find their contact information here) and tell them to become original cosponsors of the Humane Cosmetics Act when it’s reintroduced in the House and introduced in the Senate. Let’s make the United States the next country to #BeCrueltyFree.
