Animal Experimentation

This is a page concerning animal experimentation in the cosmetics industry. It is based on a survey I carried out a few years ago. This information is not meant to offend, or give personal opinions, but merely to present facts :) In addition, this is an overview of experimentation, and cannot possibly cover every aspect. There will be links at the bottom where there is more detailed information.

What is vivisection?

Animal experimentation, or vivisection, is the use of animals in medical or non-medical research. The research usually cosists of testing drugs, medicine or cosmetics and monitoring the effects they have on test subjects, i.e. animals.



The Tests Performed

There are three standard tests in the cosmetics industry:-

The toxicity test- this involves the addition of a test liquid to an animal's food or water, in order to discover the level of toxicity if the liquid is consumed by humans. Another method of testing this is to drip the liquid through a syringe which leads to the stomach.

The skin irritancy test- a patch on an animal's skin is shaved and a test substance is rubbed onto it. The animal's head may be restrained to prevent he or she from reaching the area.

The eye irritancy test (The Draize Test)- a substance is dropped into the animal's eyes, usually a rabbit's, as they lack tear ducts to blink irritations away. The head may be restrained in stocks to prevent them rubbing them.



The Moral Argument

Do animals feel pain? This argument has continued since animal experimentation first began. No-one can be 100% certain on the subject, as animals cannot speak for themselves, but presuming they can't feel pain because they lack the gift of speech is a weak argument.
Signs of distress are obvious in an animal, eg, whimpering, yelping, and repetetive movements. These factors cannot be dismissed as instinctive - they are psychological matters. An example of this, is the distress caused by boredem. They are not natural responses, as wild animals rarely show these signs

'Cruelty Free' Products

'Cruelty Free' products is a term coined to describe a product that has not been tested on animals, and is conveyed through many different labels declaring that this is so. However, although this labelling promotes the loby for a ban on vivisection, the words used on the label can convey one thing, whilst meaning another, i.e. the company finds a loophole, while appearing to be good citizens;

Product not tested on animals- Although the product hasn't been tested on animals, the ingredients probably have, or there's a possibility the product conatins animal fat.

We do not perform tests on animals- Perhaps the company doesn't, but their supplier may do so

Contains only natural ingredients- Probably true. Unfortunately, this says nothing whatsoever about whether the product is tested on animals.

Enviromentally friendly productWhilst the packaging may be enviroment-friendly, the product is not necessarily animal-friendly

Please, however, do not be discouraged from buying products labelled like this. The information here is what some companies have meant, but it does not mean all of them imply these things. There is always a chance that they really do not test on animals, and by buying these products you are supporting alternative methods of experimentation :) .

The cosmetics companies that genuinely don’t test on animals usually use one of two methods:

The Fixed Cut-off Date A company that uses this method decides on a certain date, and uses ingredients tested on animals only before this date. Therefore, although the ingredients may have been experimented on animals before that date, the company does not promote any new animal testing.

Five Year Rule This method involves companies using ingredients that were tested five years ago, but not after. So, a product that had been tested in 1991 would be put into use in 1996. This does not necessarily stop animal testing, as it is continual.




Links


Index

A poem about vivisection




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