Animal testing is an outdated - New England Anti

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Animal testing is an outdated
and flawed way to determine
cosmetics and product safety.
neavs.org
to learn more
Neither the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) nor the Consumer
Product Safety Commission requires it.
The FDA requires safety and efficacy tests
before approving drugs, medical devices,
and other products, but they need not be
performed on animals.
Many companies now use more
effective, non-animal methods.
Your consumer purchasing power
can help end animal testing – an
effortless way to help animals,
the environment, and yourself!
Why buy cruelty-free products?
Why animal tests?
To predict safety and effectiveness,
testing ingredients and finished products
traditionally involved animal use. Yet,
science shows animals are too different
than us to give accurate results. Nonanimal tests provide more reliable and
predictive results and safer products.
Is animal testing required?
New England Anti-Vivisection Society
333 Washington St., Ste. 850 | Boston, MA
[email protected] | 617-523-6020
For the animals: Testing inflicts tremendous
pain, suffering, and death. It’s typically
performed without anesthesia or pain relief.
Dr. Gerhard Zbinden, world-renowned
toxicologist, described one test as little
more than “a ritual mass execution.” Testing
one substance alone can involve hundreds
of animals enduring prolonged suffering
before death, and can cost millions. If the
animals do not die, they are typically killed.
The vast majority used are mice and rats
who receive no protection under the U.S.
For the environment: Cruelty-free products
are more environmentally friendly, less
likely to contain harmful chemicals, and
more likely to use natural substances. In
addition, animal testing results in millions
of carcasses, considered pathogenic
or hazardous waste, as well as other
contaminated waste such as excrement
and bedding.
Animal Welfare Act. Common procedures
include:
• Forcing animals to swallow or inhale
substances, or endure injections, to
determine the lethal toxic dose. They
suffer convulsions, seizures, and other
agonizing effects from being slowly
poisoned to death.
• Inserting chemicals in the eyes of
animals who are immobilized so they
cannot rub it out.
• Rubbing chemicals into their shaved or
abraded skin.
• No pain relief is provided in these tests,
though they cause ulcers, bleeding,
infection, and other painful effects.
For your health: Animals are not “little
humans” and respond to substances in
ways that may or may not predict human
response. At best, they give us “guess work”
information, which is bad science. Rabbits
are used in eye irritancy tests, though their
eyes produce fewer tears, cannot easily
flush out chemicals, and their corneas
are thinner and more easily damaged.
Animals can differ from us in their reaction
to chemicals. Aspirin, for example, can
kill a cat. We use animal tests that have
never been validated as measuring what
they claim to measure, or predicting
what will happen in humans. Most would
unlikely meet the requirements. Though
dependence on animal tests hinders
enforcement of consumer protection laws,
federal agencies continue to accept data
from them to meet safety requirements.
For public health: Because of expense,
inefficiency, and scientific limitations, the
majority of chemicals in commercial use
have not been tested. According to the
Johns Hopkins’ Center for Alternatives
to Animal Testing, out of “some 100,000
chemicals … only about 5,000 have had
significant testing so far.” Switching to
non-animal methods would allow more
chemicals to be more effectively and
efficiently tested.
What are the alternatives?
Companies and a growing number of
federal agencies acknowledge the
superiority of alternatives. For example, skin
corrosivity and irritation is easily measured
using human cell and tissue cultures, such
as EPISKIN and EpiDerm. Visit neavs.org/
alternatives/in-testing to learn more.
How can I know a product is
cruelty-free?
There are many cruelty-free definitions
and labels that can be confusing and
sometimes misleading. Some products
claiming “not tested on animals” or
“cruelty-free” may contract out animal
testing to labs or may not monitor testing
practices of ingredient suppliers. For that
reason, NEAVS and others established the
Leaping Bunny verification program – the
world’s only internationally recognized
cruelty-free certification. The Leaping
Bunny logo guarantees animal testing
is not part of any phase of product
development. Leaping Bunny aims to drive
animal testing out of industry practice
completely.
The Leaping Bunny Compassionate
Shopping Guide includes hundreds of
companies – and more are added every
year – to help you shop cruelty-free! Visit
neavs.org/campaigns/ccic to download
the guide or mobile phone app.
When you shop, look for the
Leaping Bunny – the only
logo that guarantees
100% free of
animal-testing.
Is finding certified products easy?
Yes! Not only can you find Leaping
Bunny-certified products at many stores
and websites, there are specialized sites
selling certified products. See neavs.org/
campaigns/ccic for details. If your favorite
companies are not certified, call and write
to urge them to go cruelty-free.
When you choose cruelty-free, you are
helping to end animal suffering and
environmental pollution, and keeping
yourself healthy.