Progress Made Against Animal Testing.

On the heels of a huge European victory, the Humane Society has announced that is will bring its incredibly successful “Hop to It” campaign to North America in an effort to save the lives of millions of rabbits.

Last week, the European Union (EU) ruled that skin irritation tests can no longer be performed on rabbits.  Testing on rabbits for skin irritation involves “locking groups of rabbits into full-body restraints while cosmetics, pesticides, and other chemicals are applied without pain relief to shaved skin on the animals’ back to see how much damage is caused.” The EU saw how much cruelty their inaction has allowed and made the right choice to finally do something about it.  Thousands of rabbits in the EU will now live free from the harm of skin irritant tests.

The EU has adopted a progressive stance on animal testing.  EU law forbids experiments on animals where an alternative method is ‘reasonably and practicably available.’ In the case of skin irritant testing on rabbits, many excellent alternatives exist.  The most popular alternative is a synthetic skin that matches more closely to human skin than rabbit skin does.  This alternative would involve less hassle and regulation for the researchers and would provide the companies who used these methods for testing the opportunity to place the increasing popular “Not Tested on Animals” label on their products.

If you’re a vegan or you just don’t think that animals like dogs, cats, and rabbits deserve to be experimented on than NEVER buy products that don’t say “Not Tested on Animals.”

Check out the responsible companies that make cruelty free products for all your cruelty free shopping needs.