MP for Hastings and Rye, Sally-Ann Hart has joined animal protection organisation Cruelty Free International in calling for animal testing in the UK to be phased-out, and for animal testing for cosmetics ingredients to be made illegal.
The call is part of Cruelty Free International’s Pledge Cruelty Free campaign which asks for plans to end animal testing in the UK forever, the implementation of non-animal methods for the testing of chemicals which go into everyday products, and full reinstatement of the 1998 ban on using animals in testing the safety of cosmetics ingredients, as well as a new government minister to manage the plans across all departments.
Sally-Ann Hart MP said:
“Cruelty Free internationals report is a step forward to help end cruelty towards animals. It’s imperative that we put an end to animals suffering and I share the concerns of my constituents over the use of animal testing for cosmetics. There is no need for this cruel and unnecessary practise.”
Home Office statistics show that there were over 2.76 million uses of animals in laboratories in Great Britain in 2022. Only ten per cent of those are tests required by regulators to assess the safety or effectiveness of chemicals, medicines and other products. Many of the 90% of tests which aren’t required by regulators, and are essentially voluntary, could be removed with very little impact – including those which already have approved non-animal methods that often deliver more accurate results than the animal tests.
The fundamental biological differences between humans and animals means that data from animal tests cannot reliably predict what will happen in humans. Over 90% of new drugs fail in clinical trials, to check if they work as intended and are safe for human use, even though they passed initial tests, including animal testing.
Cruelty Free International’s legal review of the government’s policy on testing cosmetics ingredients on animals, in May 2023, forced the government to admit publicly that the 1998 ban had been secretly abandoned, and that since 2019 the government had once again started to issue licences for ingredients used exclusively in cosmetics.
Following pressure from Cruelty Free International and the public, the government partially reinstated the cosmetics testing ban, but only to cover ingredients used exclusively in cosmetics. Exclusive use accounts for just approximately 20% of the total ingredients used in cosmetics and represents a clear step backwards.
Cruelty Free International’s Head of Public Affairs, Dylan Underhill, said:
“In a General Election year it is vital that the government knows both the possibilities of cruelty-free science and how important the issue of animal testing is to voters. The government says it is “committed” to ending animal testing but we know that so much more can be done to stop millions of animals suffering in laboratories every year.
“Animal testing touches our lives in many ways that most of us don’t appreciate, from cosmetics and household products to clothes, furniture, plastics, electronic and white goods, paints, dyes, garden fertilisers, and food. The government must do more to promote alternatives and end the use of animals in science, especially when modern innovations in non-animal methods can produce better results, potentially saving lives and resources.”