A bipartisan bill was introduced last Wednesday that would phase out the use of animal testing for cosmetics manufactured or sold in the U.S. within the year. The Humane Cosmetics Act would make it illegal for any company, be it private or public, to conduct animal testing and/or sell cosmetics that have been tested on animals.
U.S. law doesn’t prohibit animal testing on animals, so thousands of animals are suffering and dying to test beauty products. It is mostly mice, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs but in some cases also dogs. Pascaline Clerc, senior director of policy and advocacy of Animal Research Issues for The Humane Society of the United States, told 3MillionDogs via email that although dogs are not used for cosmetics testing, the non-animal methods developed for testing have the potential to be adapted and used for a broader range of chemicals. Some of these are being tested on dogs.
According to an undercover PETA investigation inside the laboratories of the University of Utah, for instance, the school was purchasing homeless dogs and cats from local shelters to use for often deadly experiments.
The bill was introduced by Senators Martha McSally, Joe Heck, Don Beyer, and Tony Carderas. If passed, the United States would join 30 other nations that only sell cruelty-free cosmetics.
The U.S. Humane Society has been quite actively involved in gathering support and sponsorship for the bill. Wayne Parcelle, president and CEO says:
“Given the ready availability of alternatives, there is no compelling reason to continue using outdated animal testing methods that cause tremendous animal suffering. There’s no reason to continue this cruel practice when we have cost-effective alternatives that can bring about safe products for consumers.”
The bill has gotten strong support from more than 140 companies in the cosmetics industry such as LUSH, COTY, The Body Shop, Overstock and Paul Mitchell. There is also big name celebrity support behind it, with the likes of Ricky Gervais, Kesha, and Jenna Dewan-Tatum encouraging its passing.
References:
1. Vegnews.com 2. King5.com 3. Humane Society 4. PETA
