The Truth About Animal Testing

pureadmiration
Apr 3, 2017
3 min read

The reality of cosmetics testing on animals is a still a very real and very disconcerting one. While some progress has been made, millions of animals are still experimented upon all in the name of "human safety."

Myth#1: Animal testing leads to safer cosmetics for consumers.

Though animal testing may have once contributed to the European Union's database of over 20,000 cosmetic ingredients with safety reports, it has made no progression in the past fifty years. Tests include the Repeated Dose Toxicity test, in which rabbits or mice are force-fed or inhale an ingredient for 90 days and are then killed; Reproductive Toxicity test, in which a pregnant rabbit or rat is force-fed an ingredient and then killed along with her young.

Myth #2: Only rabbits and rats are used for animal testing.

While it is true that millions of mice, rats, guinea pigs and rabbits are killed every year for cosmetic animal testing, many consumers unfortunately do not have the same emotional attachment to those animals as we do the dogs and cats we keep as pets. This very reason is why research corporations work vigilantly to hide the fact that over 66,000 dogs and 21,000 cats are used in animal testing each year. The favorite dog breed among lab researchers are Beagles, which make up the vast majority of dogs used in testing. Sadly, Beagles are not used in particular because they have similar biological features as humans but rather due to their extremely docile nature. They are bred to be companions of humans and therefore will gladly accept being force-fed, choked from toxic inhalation, blindness, pain and an entire life in a sterile, cold, artificial environment in hopes of receiving love and companionship from the humans that perform these acts on them.

Myth #3: If a product is labeled "Cruelty Free", that means it was not tested on animals.

Of course that is what a company would like you to believe. The truth is, since cruelty free shopping has become a larger trend in recent years, many companies are jumping on board for reasons that are more marketing oriented than ethical. Be aware of how a product is labeled, as different verbiage can hold very different meanings. Here is a basic breakdown:

"This final product has not been tested on animals" - This is the ultimate form of deception. Companies will print this on products to make the consumer think they are purchasing a cruelty free product, but the key word here is "final". What this phrase actually is saying is that the final product, as in the one you're holding in your hand, was not tested on an animal before you picked it up off the shelf to purchase. That means that every ingredient in the formula could have been (and likely was) tested on animals. It is very rare that "final products" are tested on animals---these usually are tested on human volunteers to list the results of clinical studies for marketing purposes. In other words, this phrase is a cop out and likely means that product was involved in animal testing at some point.

"This product has not been tested on animals" - Technically this phrase should indicate that the product is cruelty free. There is no regulation on using this phrase on products (much like how there is no regulation on labeling products as "natural" or "organic"), so its up to the company to be ethical and honest when using it. It could have similar meaning to the aforementioned phrase, in which the final product was not tested on animals but it does not indicate that all ingredients are derived from suppliers who do not test on animals.