Animal testing has become a routine process in the cosmetic industry over the last decade. Not only is the practice inhumane, but is also thought by many researchers and scientists to be ineffective. Moreover, animal testing for cosmetics costs Americans billions and billions of dollars every year.
While testing on animals has been used for hundreds of years for scientific and medical reasons, only in last decade or so has it been used for cosmetic purposes. These tests are conducted on a variety of animals, including rats, monkeys, rabbits, kittens, and dogs, and are used to determine weather or not a product is safe for human usage. Two of the more common tests are skin and eye irritation tests, or the Draize test, where the animal (often a rabbit in this case) is put in stocks, has it’s eyelids “clipped” so that it can not blink, or has it’s stomach shaved. Toxic chemicals are then pored or smeared onto it’s eyes or bare skin and left for days or weeks, being monitored at regular intervals by scientist to see how the toxins affect it’s skin. No anesthetics are used during this process, meaning that the animal must suffer through the pain until it is killed by the chemicals or put down. A study done on the Draize tests concluded, “[The Draize test] grossly over predicted the effects that could be seen in the human eye,” and another said the test, “does not reflect the eye irritation hazard for man.”.
Every year, an estimated 70 million animals are maimed or killed for cosmetic testing in the US alone, and nearly $12 billion taxpayer dollars are spent yearly on the practice. Even if one were to disregard the obvious cruelty and expensiveness of testing, it is imposable to ignore the fact that it may vary well be unreliable. When asked in an online interview, a PETA spokesman was quoted as saying, “Animals differ from humans significantly, making animal drug and cosmetic tests unreliable and dangerous. New research methods, such as computer models, cell cultures and human studies are more accurate, less expensive and much more humane.”.
In 2009, the EU passed into law a ban on testing animals for cosmetic purposes, and in 2013 it will be updated so it is illegal to sell products that have been tested on animals anywhere in the world. The EU is alone in this venture however, the leading animal testing nations which include the United States, Canada, Brazil, and China all continue to test on animals.
Animals should not be made to suffer so that humans may look better. The practice of animal testing is cruel, inhumane, and barbaric, and may even be of any use. To stop this tragedy, people should avoid buying products made by companies that use animal testing, such as Dove, Maybelline, Cover Girl, and L'Oreal. As Mark Twain said, “I am not interested to know whether vivisection produces results that are profitable to the human race or doesn't...The pain which it inflicts upon non-consenting animals is the basis of my enmity toward it, and it is to me sufficient justification of the enmity without looking further.”.