January 13, 2004

By: April Tom
Website: http://www.1st-in-cosmetics.com

Government announces end to cosmetic testing on animals

The Government has secured an end to the testing of cosmetic ingredients on animals, Home Office Minister George Howarth announced today.

Following consultation with industry, UK companies with authority to carry out such tests have agreed to voluntarily give up their existing licences. The Home Office will not issue any further licences.

The move comes a year after the Government’s announcement of an end to the use of animals in the UK for the testing of finished cosmetics products.

Mr Howarth said:

“The Government has met its pledge to end cosmetic testing.

“Ongoing dialogue between the Government and the cosmetics industry has now secured a voluntary ban on all use of animals for the testing of cosmetics in the UK.

“Current legislation did not allow a revocation of the licences, and so a voluntary agreement was the most logical way forward. We are not intending to issue any further licences.

“These measures will further improve the operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.”

All applications for animal testing are dealt with on an individual basis and, before any tests can go ahead, the following criteria must be satisfied:

• there are no alternatives;
• any suffering to animals is outweighed by the potential benefit to humans; and
• the minimum suffering is caused to the smallest number of animals

The vast majority of procedures are done for medical or biological research reasons.

George Howarth said:

“Decisions to grant licences for any animal use are scrutinised rigorously and only taken after careful consideration. However, until alternative tests are available, animal testing is necessary to both ensure the safety of products and enable future advances in medicine.”

The move follows a range of initiatives by the Government since May 1997, including:

• Promoting the development and use of alternatives wherever possible - the budget made available to the Animal Procedures Committee to sponsor research on alternatives has been increased by 42% and scientists will now be required to demonstrate what consideration they have given to the use of alternatives;
• an end to the testing of finished cosmetic products on animals;
• a ban on the use of animals to test tobacco or alcohol products;
• further funding secured to increase the complement of the Inspectorate from 18 to 21, and seven new inspectors have been recruited since May 97;
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• through the European Commission, we are putting pressure on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development to delete the LD50 test from its list of regulatory safety tests;
• requiring ethical review processes in all establishments from April 1999;
• a ban on the use Great Apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, pygmy chimpanzees and orang-utans);
• the phasing out of the use of ascitic animals in monoclonal antibody production; and
• an increase to the number of animal welfare experts on the Animal Procedures Committee.

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About The Author:

April Tom is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-cosmetics.com.  Tips on skin care, hair care and beauty products to bring out natural beauty.