Animal Testing - is it really necessary?

Sadly almost three million animals are used for experiments in the UK every year and as a result an animal dies in a laboratory somewhere in the UK every 12 seconds (source buav).

Procter & Gamble (P&G) is the world's largest consumer products company with an annual revenue of US$76.476 billion (2007) and their brands include household names such as Ariel, Daz, Fairy, Gillette, Max Factor, Olay, Pantene Pro-V, Pringles, Herbal Essences and Head & Shoulders.

P&G admit that guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, ferrets, rats and mice are among the animals used in their product safety research and the company is highly secretive about what actually happens to the animals they sacrifice. They have blinded and poisoned thousands of animals to test deodorants, hair care products, laundry detergents, toothpaste and other products. Apart from pain and injury caused by the chemicals themselves, unfortunately many animals also suffered because of a lack of basic care: (source uncaged.co.uk)

Inside every bottle of Oil Of Olay Complete UV Protection moisturizer is a little bit of nanotech. Not surprisingly P&G are involved in animal testing of nanoparticles. P&G are also pushing for a massive new animal testing programme to assess how poisonous different nanoparticles are. Despite this they continue to claim that animal testing is a last resort (source boycottpandg.co.uk). P&G also carry out Skin irritancy tests including the draize eye test. I will not go into detail about these tests on this blog as some people may find it upsetting. You can find the full information on the following campaigners websites:

http://www.uncaged.co.uk/pgtesting.htm
http://www.pandgkills.com/main.html
http://www.boycottpandg.co.uk/testing.asp

Ironically P&G also use animal testing for products aimed at animal lovers which has not gone unnoticed by animal welfare groups. Uncaged Campaigns and PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) are focusing on P&G's pet food subsidiary Iams. See www.iamscruelty.com.

Uncaged Campaigns first exposed IAMS painful, invasive and lethal experiments on cats, dogs and other animals in 2001. IAMS then suddenly developed a 'Research Policy,' claiming that they would not harm or kill cats and dogs. Uncaged asked IAMS to provide proof that, after 25 years of vivisecting animals, they had genuinely implemented such a policy. Tellingly, IAMS refused to do this, or even answer their searching questions about their so-called 'research policy.'

In March 2003 another nine-month undercover investigation conducted by PETA uncovered harrowing neglect and suffering endured by cats and dogs in IAMS-sponsored experiments. The damning evidence confirmed IAMS' 'research policy' to be nothing more than a sham designed to conceal shocking suffering inflicted on animals in IAMS research. You can see the very sad video footage of their investigation here: http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=iams

Despite its repeated P.R. claims about being in the forefront of developing alternatives and reducing product testing on animals, P&G's priorities seem clear: P&G has spent more on advertising in less than 5 days, than it claims to have spent in 14 years on alternatives to painful and lethal animal tests. (source iamscruelty.com)

And, while the company claims that it no longer uses dogs in product testing and that it has reduced the number of animals used by 90 percent, it still refuses to back up any of its claims with facts. For example, Procter & Gamble refuses to release to the public information regarding the actual numbers and species of animals used, or the types of tests it forces these animals to endure.

P&G are often quoted as stating: “Sometimes, but only as a last resort, we must conduct research involving animals to ensure materials are safe and effective” and “We are passionate about continuing our progress in developing alternatives to research involving animals.”

Of course these kinds of statements are standard industry spin. As the information on the few website links on this article shows, thousands of animals die at the hands of P&G every year in tests for trivial and totally unnecessary ingredients aimed at improving their profit margin

Please note that everything that either Uncaged Campaigns or PETA has said about IAMS is based on documentary and/or video evidence. Make no mistake, if anything said about IAMS really was untrue or misconstrued, as IAMS would have you believe, they would have been sued and their websites taken down. They haven't.

Campaigners believe purchases of these P&G products provide the funding for their animal testing, and encourage P&G to carry on regardless. But by boycotting these products, you will hit P&G where it hurts – in the pocket. And that this is the best chance of persuading P&G to stop testing on animals.The fact is that more than 600 companies manufacture safe and effective products that are comparable to Procter & Gamble's without testing them on animals. Companies with smaller budgets than P&G have been able to develop alternatives to animals while showing a true commitment to eliminating animal testing. The truth is that P&G could stop all animal testing today without hindering anyone's safety.

For over 100 years the BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) has been campaigning peacefully to create a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals. Thanks to persistent campaigning, the BUAV achieved an EU-wide ban on animal testing for cosmetics in 2003. However, it won't come into effect in stages until 2009/2013, the BUAV is now continuing to ensure that this ban is carried through. (source buav) However because there is no world-wide ban, the vast majority of cosmetics products and/or their ingredients sold in the UK will almost certainly have been tested on animals - but the test will have taken place in another country. This demonstrates the need for coherent and co-ordinated legislation on animal experiments across Europe and the rest of the world. (source uncaged.co.uk)

What can YOU do?

• Cruelty Free Shopping:

Check out PETA’s “Do Test” factsheet here: http://caringconsumer.com/resources_companies.asp which is updated approximately every two to four months showing companies that do test on animals to avoid. These are American lists but many of these brands are also widely available in the uk such as Johnson and Johnson, Loreal and Olay etc. They also have a“Do Not Test” factsheet with brands that do not test on animals such as Burt’s Bees, Earth Mama Angel Baby and Dr Haushchka. And for cruelty free Animal food alternatives see here: http://www.uncaged.co.uk/petfood.htm

You will be pleased to know that The Natural Beauty Shops’ products are never tested on animals and some of our brands such as Juice Beauty, Love The Planet and Suki are also BUAV approved enabling them to carry BUAV’s leaping bunny logo on the product packaging. This is your guarantee that the approved products — and its ingredients — have not been tested on animals. To see our full list of Buav approved products please click here and select the buav approved category. To help you identify cruelty free products, look out for the leaping bunny logo on other products packaging before purchasing (and avoid the Procter & Gamble logo!!!)

• Show Your Support

Please help PETA to send the message to Procter & Gamble that its cruel and needless use of animals must stop. Refuse to buy P&G products, and let the company know why by writing or calling:

Mr. Gary Cunningham
Director of Corporate Affairs
P & G UK.
Colbalt 3, Silver Fox Way,
Colbalt Business Park,
Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE27 OQN.
Telephone: 0191 297 5000

or

Support companies such as BUAV or PETA by actively campaigning or donating:

To register as a BUAV Campaigner click here: http://www.buav.org/b1_form.php You will then be kept up to date with the latest BUAV news and have the opportunity to help out with crucial campaigns. To donate click here: http://www.buav.org/c_support.php Your support is important to them as they receive no government or lottery funding. A gift from you could make all the difference in the world to laboratory animals.

PETA US formed in 1980 in the United States and has more than 1.6 million members and supporters, making it the largest animal rights organisation in the world. PETA US and PETA Europe are dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals and work through public education, research, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement and protest campaigns. An annual donation of £12, or more, to PETA entitles you to many member benefits including a FREE year's subscription to their award-winning quarterly magazine Animal Times, packed full of the latest news and easy tips on how to stop animal suffering in your own community. To Join click here: http://www.peta.org.uk/jnew/index.asp or to become an activist click here: http://www.peta.org.uk/cmp/actjoin.asp