Britain Takes First Step Towards Ending Animal Testing for Household Products but Doesn’t Go Nearly Far Enough
After intensive campaigning efforts by PETA UK, our supporters and other caring people, the government has taken a baby step towards ending the suffering of animals in laboratories by banning tests on animals for finished household products.
Taken at face value, the ban is good news, but scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll find that animals may still die in cruel, painful tests for detergent, air fresheners and other household products in the UK as the government continues to permit the testing of ingredients used in household products in certain circumstances.
Finished products, such as detergents and bleach, have not been tested on animals in Britain since 2010. Banning tests on finished products was the easy step to take. But Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone promised an animal testing ban for both products andingredients in 2011.
Fewer than one in 10 people in the UK supports the use of animals for testing non-medical products such as home cleaning products. There is already an abundance of these products and ingredients on the market, so there are no circumstances under which we can justify forcing chemicals down animals’ throats and dripping them into rabbits’ eyes to develop more products for human convenience.
Britain should be a leader in this area by implementing a full and complete animal testing ban for both household products and their ingredients and should be encouraging other European countries to do the same. This is where the real difference will be made to end this cruel and needless torture of animals.
Please urge the government to go all the way and ban tests on animals for household product ingredients, too.
