Is Animal Testing Still Going On?

In the UK and across the rest of the EU, testing cosmetic products of their ingredients on animals is banned. This means it is illegal to sell a cosmetic product if animal testing has taken place.

A new study from Germany has shown more than 100 tests have been carried out on animals after 2009, which is when the EU ban on animal testing of cosmetic ingredients came into force.

The ban in 2009 meant that consumer safety of cosmetics is no longer tested on animals. The study published in the journal ‘Alternatives to Animal Experimentation’ identified 413 cosmetic ingredients, 63 of which underwent a total of 104 tests on animals. Scientists said the trends show continued animal testing of ingredients which is likely to carry on.

The findings shortly came after the Home Office received backlash after revealing its support for a decision by the ECHA Board of Appeal requiring certain ingredients to be trialled on animals before the use of humans.

In 2020, the ECHA ruled that a German company, Symrise produces fragrances, will carry out animal tests on two substances used in cosmetics. In a letter to Animal Charity Cruelty-Free International (CFI) said that the UK has ‘aligned its approach to the Board of Appeal of the European Chemicals Agency in the Symrise case’.

Will animal testing ever actually stop? We’re not sure, but we can only hope there will be a stop to it.