By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Maryland will soon become the fifth U.S. state to say no to cosmetics testing on animals.

State lawmakers last night voted to prohibit new tests on animals for cosmetics and all sales of newly-animal-tested cosmetics beginning July 2022. The Senate and House versions of the bills passed the Maryland Senate unanimously last night and they passed the House with a large majority, demonstrating the clear support in the state for ending such cruel testing.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The U.S. government is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fund experiments on dogs, a new report we are releasing today shows.

It is estimated that there are more than 58,000 dogs being used in U.S. public, private and federal research and testing facilities each year. Some of these dogs—an average of 660 each year—are deliberately not given any drugs or any other help to relieve their pain and distress.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Virginia’s Gov. Ralph Northam has just signed into law bills that would ban new cosmetics animal testing and sales of animal-tested cosmetics in his state.

Virginia joins three U.S. states that already have similar laws on their books. In 2018 California became the first state to prohibit the sale of animal-tested cosmetics followed by Nevada and Illinois in 2019.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The devastation wrought by the recent deep freeze in Texas is a stark reminder of the urgent need for disaster planning that includes tens of thousands of animals in puppy mills, roadside zoos and other enterprises. Today, to address that need, Representatives Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., joined by more than 115 cosponsors, have reintroduced a bill to mandate preparedness planning by entities regulated under the Animal Welfare Act.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Cosmetics animal testing is on its way out the world over and U.S. states are rapidly moving in the direction of that trend. Just this month lawmakers in three states—Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey—have moved decisively to end the sales of cosmetics tested on animals and/or prohibit cosmetics animal testing.

Virginia lawmakers last week voted to pass legislation to ban cosmetics animal testing and sales of animal-tested cosmetics. The bill now heads to Gov. Ralph Northam for his signature.

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