Why Canada's ban on cosmetic testing on animals only applies to new products
CBC
If you walk into a drugstore and head down the shampoo or makeup aisles, you're bound to find products that include ingredients that have been tested on animals.
When Canada's ban on cosmetic testing on animals comes into force in December, those products will stay on store shelves.
The amended law isn't retroactive. It focuses on banning new animal testing in Canada, and the sale of products that rely on new animal testing data.
"While we're in this interim stage, where we're moving from a time when it wasn't banned … to a time that it is banned, there are going to be products out there where you don't know" if they are cruelty-free or not, said Liz White, director of Animal Alliance Canada.
She's been lobbying the Canadian and Ontario governments for three decades to introduce legislation on animal testing, and is pleased with where it landed.
"It's been an uphill battle to get governments to actually consider it," White said. "But I think times are changing and there's more non-animal testing mechanisms now."
Canada's amendments to the Food and Drugs Act, passed on June 22, also makes it illegal for companies to falsely claim products are cruelty-free.
Health Canada said it's developing guidance for the industry, and will rely on a complaints-based approach for how it enforces compliance. White says consumers will need to keep this in mind while shopping.
"I think that's something that we'll have to watch for and make sure that the legislation is being properly implemented and monitored and that companies that might stray — which I hope won't happen — that we'll find out about," said White.
According to The Humane Society, shampoo, deodorant and lipstick are some of the products that could contain chemicals that were animal-tested — but it depends on the brand.
White says companies rarely test the final products on animals anymore. The main concern for animal rights activists is testing the preservatives and other chemicals used in the products.
She said the most common animals used in this kind of testing are rats, mice, rabbits and guinea pigs.
A variety of tests have been used to meet past regulatory requirements, including toxicity tests that would look for a reaction to a chemical on a patch of an animal's shaved skin.
In an LD50 test, for example, an animal is forced to ingest a chemical to see if there are any effects. During a Draize test, a chemical is tested on a rabbit's eye for irritability.
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