Animal Protection Charities Call for New Cosmetic Ban
28 January 2016 at 11:38 am
Seven animal protection charities have joined together to urge the Federal Government to ban animal tested cosmetics in Australia.
The Humane Society International, Humane Research Australia, Animals Australia, World Animal Protection, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Voiceless and Choose Cruelty Free, have written to the Minister for Rural Health, Senator Fiona Nash, urging the government to bring forward legislation to ban animal testing of cosmetics.
In November 2014, the Australian Senate passed a cross-party motion in support of ending animal testing of cosmetics, which was followed by a similar cross-party motion moved in the House of Representatives by government MP Jason Wood in September 2015.
The animal protection groups said however, that now was the time for further decisive action.
“It is time for Australian legislation to reflect the global trend of ending cosmetics cruelty, and the will of Australians who oppose using animals for the development of cosmetics,” the letter said.
“We now respectfully request that you initiate the next step towards ending cosmetics cruelty by bringing forward a proposal to ban cosmetics animal testing and the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics.”
The groups said they had united to call on Australia to follow the lead of the European Union, Norway, Israel and India by banning animal testing and the sale or import of cosmetic ingredients tested on animals elsewhere in the world.
“With legislative proposals under consideration in the US, Canada, Taiwan and Brazil and a partial ban on cosmetics animal testing having been adopted recently in New Zealand, the time is right for Australia to respond to citizens’ wishes by taking action to ban cosmetics cruelty,” the letter said.
“Together, the organisations represent more than four million people around the world who – rightly – believe that such suffering cannot be justified for the sake of a new cosmetic ingredient when thousands of safe ingredients are already in use both here in Australia and in other ‘cruelty free’ markets across the world.
“Prohibiting animal testing for cosmetic purposes through combined test and sales bans is fast becoming a global trend. Toxicity testing on live, sentient animals causes suffering and death in procedures that are increasingly recognised to be both outdated and unreliable predictors of human safety.
“It is entirely possible to produce innovative and safe cosmetics using existing ingredients without recourse to new animal testing, as demonstrated by the hundreds of beauty brands that manufacture cruelty-free products, including popular Australian brands such as Lush Australia, Natio, Australis, Natures Organics and Sukin.”
The letter said that although it was claimed that animal testing in Australia was rare or non-existent, such claims were impossible to confirm, and there was no legislative ban on the practice, highlighting the importance of introducing a combined test and marketing ban in Australia.
“There is overwhelming public support for an Australian ban. In 2013 a Nexus Research poll showed that 85 per cent of Australians oppose animal testing for cosmetics, and both the Greens and Labor have initiated action on this topic,” the letter said.
The organisations praised Senator Nash for her interest in this issue and for supporting the Senate motion, and have urged her to take the next step by proposing a combined cosmetic animal test and sale ban for Australia.
Read the full letter here.
