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The UK Government has pledged to keep the animal cosmetics testing ban in place after Brexit.*
MP Dr. Lisa Cameron, Chair of the All Parliamentary Dog Welfare Group, confirmed that Government plans to keep restrictions on the marketing of imported cosmetics that rely on animal testing safety data.
Welfarists from Cruelty Free International have welcomed the pledge – and are now calling on politicians to use Brexit as ‘an opportunity to reduce the number of animals used in UK laboratories’.
“The UK remains Europe’s biggest user of animals in research despite growing public demand for more to be done to find alternatives to animal testing,” said the organization. “According to a recent poll, 74 percent of the UK public backs the call for the development of alternatives.”
Opportunity of Brexit
“Brexit could be a real opportunity for the UK to demonstrate to the world that it really is the global champion of animals,” Kerry Postlewhite, Director of Public Affairs for Cruelty Free International, said in a statement.
“Instead of simply preserving the status quo, the Government can use this as a springboard to increase efforts to stop the cruel use of animals in experiments.
“This is a unique chance for the UK to step up and become world leaders in the development of cutting-edge alternatives to end this outdated practice for good. Let’s not waste it.”
*In EU law, the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals, is banned. There are limitations to these rules: for example, before cosmetics products can go on sale in China, they must be tested by the Chinese authorities, meaning brands which sell in China – for example L’Oreal, are not cruelty-free.
