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Loading...Government Fails to Fulfill Pledge to End Animal Testing for Household Products
The British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and animal advocates are expressing their disappointment over a government statement that demonstrates its failure to uphold a pledge to end animal testing for household products.
Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone called testing for household products “unacceptable” and officially announced the intention to ban testing for products in 2011, which received widespread public and political support.
Initially, Featherstone stated the ban was supposed to include “products that are primarily intended for use in the home, including detergents and other laundry products, household cleaners, air-fresheners, toilet blocks, polishes, paper products such as infant nappies, paints, glues (and removers), other furnishing and DIY products and household pesticides.”
When asked about the issue last year, the government stated that it would ban testing for finished products and their ingredients, and a recently published revision of animal testing legislation in the UK stated that no product licenses would be granted for testing household products.
Unfortunately, now no one seems to be able to legally define “household products.”
“I am incredibly disappointed that despite a clear pledge made in 2010 to ban the use of household product testing on animals, the Government has failed to provide a clear definition of what constitutes a household product. Given that the previous Minister accepted that most of these experiments take place on ingredients rather than finished products, a ban which does not explicitly include ingredients in its definition of household products is effectively worthless and will mean animals needlessly continue to suffer,” said Kerry McCarthy Labour MP for Bristol East.
According to the BUAV, government figures from 2011 show that the number of tests on finished household products was zero, which makes a ban on testing finished products fairly pointless.
Testing for these products needlessly subjects animals to horrific practices that can involve force-feeding them high doses of toxic chemicals or putting harmful irritants on their skin and or in their eyes. Mice, rats and guinea pigs are most commonly used in the testing of household product chemicals, but other animals, including rabbits and dogs, may also be used, according to the BUAV. The effects of these tests can include vomiting, seizures, ulceration, internal bleeding, convulsions and organ damage.
“We expected the Government to keep its pledge to ban the cruel practice of testing household products on animals. This latest Government announcement is simply not good enough. This is an issue of strong public concern and we need a clear ban – not an empty gesture – that stops the testing of household products and their ingredients on animals. We will continue to pursue the Government on this important issue,” said BUAV Chief Executive Michelle Thew.
For more information, visit the BUAV’s Clean Up Cruelty campaign. To find a range of products that are truly animal friendly, visit gocrueltyfree.org.
Related Stories:
Public Opposition to Animal Testing is Growing
Animal Experiments at 25 Year High in the UK
Israel Bans Animal-Tested Cosmetics – Why Can’t We Do the Same?
Read more: animal cruelty, animal testing, buav, Home Office, household products, uk
Photo credit: Thinkstock
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186 comments
+ add your ownThank you for sharing.
I have a dream. In my lifetime, we will have no more cruel and outdated animal testing. Why are people fussing about what a product is and what it is called? Just stop it all now. Otherwise you're just shuffling deckchairs on the Titanic. Petition signed.
I strongly believe no animal should be used in testing for ANYTHING! Animals are the one thing this planet has going for it, while humans are ruining our earth. And we are supposed to be the intelligent beings. What a laugh. My pets have more compassion than most humans I know.
no need for this horrible practice
There is no law requirement for animal testing, companies do it to get their "new and improved" tested products out quickly even though there are non animal testing methods widely available. USA and Japan still test, please write to your government for the voiceless. I saw on the internet today about the EU stopping animal testing, and companies were trying to get ferry and airline companies to ship animals out for them to test elsewhere, i really hope these airlines/ferry companies won't do it.
We can't give up the pledge
thanks for sharing :)
The first two words in the title say it all......."government fails......."
Surprised? Not me............humans are failing the animals continuously and it seems to be getting worse.
There is NO REASON why animals should be used for testing....it's cruel and inhumane. Still want to conduct your frankenstein experiments? Then you should be using animal abusers, torturers and murderers.
Elaine A......this article is about the UK
Tricia H.......Don't condem a whole country until every country has cleaned up all their problems.......Most Canadians hate the seal hunt too but we just keep chipping away at government
OH YES & CANADA SUCKS UNTIL THEY STOP THE SEAL HUNT!!!
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