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Brands That STILL Test on Animals

There are a series of large international brands still using animal testing on their products. This list includes an example of these brands that are currently being sold in Australia:

-Tony & Guy  -Chanel      -Marc Jacobs
-MAC             -Lancome  -Maybelline
-Revlon         -Cetaphil   -Aeroguard
-Clearisil      -Nair           -Nice ‘n’ Easy
– Vaseline    -Listerine   -Head & Shoulders
-Vicks           -Windex     -TRESemme
 – Lux             -Rexona     -Chapstick
-Glen 20       -Avon          -Clean & Clear
-Dove           -Garnier      -Mortein
-Lynx           -Ponds         -Vicks
-Old Spice  -Scholl         -Pearl Drops
-Rogaine    -Palmolive  – Johnson & Johnson’s
-Airwick    -Aveeno       -Colgate

Please be aware of these brands and their products before choosing to use them. If you would like to find out more the website ‘Animals Australia’ has posted a list.
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/animal-testing-list.php 

Countries That Have BANNED Animal Testing

List of countries that have successfully banned animal testing:

  • The European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania,Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
  • Norway
  • Israel
  • India

Countries still considering banning animal testing:

  • United Stated
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • Canada

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Informative Post on Cruelty-Free Products!

Applying your cruelty free makeup in the morning you may be feeling as though you are doing all you can to protect animals from the cosmetics industry. But before you blend that contour you may want to take a look at the tools you are using. If you are using makeup brushes, chances are they […]

via Which makeup brush is really kind to animals? — Kaitlyn Wilson Journalism

Animal Advocates

There are a number of celebrities that are known animal lovers and important advocates, just another reason why you should be one too!

Such celebrities include:
– Leonardo Di Caprio
– Lily Cole
– Peter Dinklage
– Miley Cyrus
– Ricky Gervais
– Kristen Bell
– Katherine Heigel
– Melanie C
– Charlize Theron
– Ke$ha
– Ian Somerhalder
– Simon Cowell

Cruelty-Free Companies

These are an example list of companies that do NOT test on animals:

– Aesop      -People for Plants       -Almay
-Gaia          -Sukin                             -Moogoo
-A’kin        -Puretopia                     -Natural Instinct
-Lush         -The Body Shop           – YESto
-OPI           -Sally Hansen               -Jurlique
-Essie        -Palmer’s                       – Too Faced
– NYX        – Burt’s Bees                  – Physician’s Formula

Look out for them and make a better choice today.

Experimental Practices and Animal Statistics

These statistics are from the year 2014 where it was recorded that more than 100 million animals, including mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds, were used in experiments in the U.S. alone. Canada had a much lower figure of 3 million animals being tested on per year while the U.K used 4. 87 million animals. Australia and New Zealand, recorded more than six million animals used in teaching and/or research. However, there are places such as Japan where the number of animals used do not have to be recorded.

These animals are forcefully placed in laboratories to participate in biology lessons, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation and tests for the purpose of chemical, drug, food and cosmetic products. These animals face harmful and cruel practices during these tests and research experiments. Some examples of these practices include breathing toxic fumes, being restrained and immobilised for a long period of time, holes drilled into their skulls, spinal cords crushed, skin burned off and severe eye damage or blinding using direct toxic substances. In addition to the torment occurring in the actual experiments, animals in laboratories are confined to barren cages, socially isolated as well as physically and psychologically traumatised.

 

Labour’s Campaign

On the 22nd of February, The Australian Labour Party presented ‘The Ethical Cosmetic Bill’, a policy to ban the use of animal testing in Australia as well as stopping the sale of imported animal tested products manufactured overseas. Although our laws already make it difficult to test cosmetic products on animals in Australia, imported products still do. This bill shows that there is a strong political support to end this cruelty. With so many ingredients readily available with the known knowledge that they are safe on humans, it is time to stop this unnecessary process. Although this legislation has been proposed, critical support is still needed for it to pass. Which is another example of why this campaign is needed. The proposed legislation is another positive step towards ending cosmetics cruelty in Australia.

Alternatives

Researchers and scientists have created certain alternatives to animal testing such as using ‘computer modelling’. By using sophisticated computer models scientists can successfully stimulate human biology allowing them to accurately predict ways in which the human body may react to new drugs and substances. This process has enabled a new way in which experimentation is performed.

Another alternative is ‘In Vitro Testing’ which is using human tissue and stem cells grown in micro-chips to mimic the structure and function of human organs. They replicate human physiology, diseases and drug responses more accurately than animal testing does.

Human volunteers are also an option in avoiding the use of animals in experimentations. These volunteers are given an extremely small one-time drug dose, called micro-dosing, which is then monitored inside the body. Observing how the drug behaves helps screen out drug compounds that will not work in humans.

Modern technologies have allowed the possibility for such alternatives and have given us another step towards permanently stopping animal experimentation . They have been proven to be quicker, inexpensive and cruelty-free.

India Bans Animal Testing

It has been confirmed by PETA that the Animal Welfare Division, of the Environment Ministry in India, has ordered the ban of animal testing on household products such as soaps and detergents.

“Consumers will be delighted to know the production of soaps and detergents manufactured in India will not involve harming rabbits, mice or guinea pigs,“ Dipti Kapoor from PETA India said, according to  the India Times.

Unfortunately the ban does not affect imported products manufactured overseas, however this news is still a massive step.