The Cost of Cosmetics: ‘Bloodied Rabbits’ Protest Against Cruel Tests

Earlier today, two PETA supporters dressed as bruised and bloodied rabbits hung, “lifeless”, from a gigantic make-up bag outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. The action condemned the authority for allowing animals to be tormented, poisoned, and killed in cruel, avoidable tests for cosmetics ingredients used in products such as sun cream, shampoo, and perfume.

The bloody scene illustrates how the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) – supported by the European Commission – continues to undermine a European Union–wide ban on animal testing for cosmetics. ECHA achieves this under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation – a shameful loophole that allows animals to be tortured, killed, and dissected in avoidable tests for shampoo and sun cream ingredients.

Under REACH, tests on animals are permitted for ingredients used exclusively in cosmetics for which there is a possibility of factory workers being exposed during the manufacturing process. For ingredients used in cosmetics and other types of products, such as detergents or other household products, tests on animals are permitted regardless of any worker exposure or environmental risk. This policy erodes the once groundbreaking ban on animal testing for cosmetics and goes against the very intention behind its creation: to ensure that sentient beings no longer suffer and die for the sake of make-up or perfume.

Citizens Ignored; Animals Let Down

A single test for a cosmetics ingredient can involve hundreds of rabbits. Some will be force-fed an ingredient throughout pregnancy before they and their unborn offspring are killed and dissected. In 2021, a European citizens’ initiative was launched calling for the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics to be protected and strengthened.

While the initiative was validated with over 1.2 million statements of support from European citizens, the commission failed to recognise that the ban was being weakened and refused to take action. This means that the once pioneering ban has effectively been rendered worthless.

The True Cost of Cosmetics

Thousands of rabbits, rats, fish and other animals suffer in laboratories across Europe every year. These animals – who feel pain and fear, just like humans do – are subjected to horrific abuse during experiments that could be replaced with non-animal methods. Pregnant rabbits and their offspring are poisoned, killed, and dissected; rats are forced to ingest a substance every day for weeks at a time; and schools of fish struggle to breathe and eventually die in water that has been poisoned with a chemical. Animal tests are time-consuming, expensive, and seriously limited in garnering data relevant to human and environmental protection. When compared to human data, it was found that tests on animals for predicting skin damage were wrong in 45% of cases.

EU Policy Must Change

No animal deserves to suffer and die for the sake of lipstick or toothpaste. We’re asking the European Commission to revoke its policy allowing cosmetics ingredients to be tested on animals. Instead, they must allow companies to demonstrate safety using superior, non-animal methods. Help get our message heard by urging the European Commission to take action and stop the ban on animal testing for cosmetics being undermined:

Send the European Commission a Message

Always Choose Cruelty-Free

The PETA US global Beauty Without Bunnies database helps consumers choose companies that have shunned tests on animals in favour of effective, modern non-animal methods. Make the compassionate choice – never buy from companies that test on animals.

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