MUMBAI: Animal welfare groups were elated on Friday as India took the all important decision to ban cruel animal testing methods for cosmetic products.
The Bureau of Indian Standards has on Saturday approved the removal of any mention of animal tests from the country's cosmetics standard. The use of modern non-animal alternative tests also becomes mandatory, replacing invasive tests on animals.
Animal welfare groups such as Humane Society International (HSI), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and People For Animals (PFA) welcomed this landmark announcement by Drug Controller General of India, Dr GN Singh, in the capital.
PETA India, which had also been campaigning for this ban on animal testing, thanked Maneka Gandhi for her support on this issue.
This animal rights campaign had received support from top leaders. Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently urged the ministries of health and family welfare to consider PETA India's request for a ban on the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients through the National Advisory Council office. Senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lal Krishna Advani had also sought the same through his office.
Alokparna Sengupta, HSI India's Be Cruelty-Free campaign manager, said: "This is a major victory for countless animals who will no longer be made to suffer, and it is a proud moment for India as it becomes the first country in South Asia to end cosmetics cruelty. We thank the thousands of Indian consumers, politicians and celebrities who helped to achieve this historic ban."
More than 1,200 companies around the world have banned all animal tests in favour of effective, modern non-animal tests, but many still choose to subject animals to painful tests in which substances are dripped into their eyes, smeared onto their abraded skin, sprayed in their faces or forced down their throats. Because of the vast physiological differences between humans and the animals used in these tests, the results are often misleading.
India bans cruel animal testing for cosmetics, activists elated - The Times of India
The Bureau of Indian Standards has on Saturday approved the removal of any mention of animal tests from the country's cosmetics standard. The use of modern non-animal alternative tests also becomes mandatory, replacing invasive tests on animals.
Animal welfare groups such as Humane Society International (HSI), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and People For Animals (PFA) welcomed this landmark announcement by Drug Controller General of India, Dr GN Singh, in the capital.
PETA India, which had also been campaigning for this ban on animal testing, thanked Maneka Gandhi for her support on this issue.
This animal rights campaign had received support from top leaders. Congress president Sonia Gandhi recently urged the ministries of health and family welfare to consider PETA India's request for a ban on the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients through the National Advisory Council office. Senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lal Krishna Advani had also sought the same through his office.
Alokparna Sengupta, HSI India's Be Cruelty-Free campaign manager, said: "This is a major victory for countless animals who will no longer be made to suffer, and it is a proud moment for India as it becomes the first country in South Asia to end cosmetics cruelty. We thank the thousands of Indian consumers, politicians and celebrities who helped to achieve this historic ban."
More than 1,200 companies around the world have banned all animal tests in favour of effective, modern non-animal tests, but many still choose to subject animals to painful tests in which substances are dripped into their eyes, smeared onto their abraded skin, sprayed in their faces or forced down their throats. Because of the vast physiological differences between humans and the animals used in these tests, the results are often misleading.
India bans cruel animal testing for cosmetics, activists elated - The Times of India
