Decade-long efforts put a stop to cosmetic testing on animals in Canada

On Thursday, Bill C-47 passed the senate, putting a stop to cosmetic testing on animals and trade.

For several years, animal protection advocates have been fighting for a complete ban on animal testing and to move towards non-animal alternatives.

“We are absolutely thrilled to see Canada pass this historic legislation,” said Michael Bernard, deputy director of the Humane Society International/Canada.

The Humane Society International/Canada, Animal Alliance Canada, and Cruelty Free International, with Cosmetics Alliance Canada, Lush Cosmetics, and The Body Shop, have been working with the Canadian government to change legislation that would ban testing cosmetics on animals.

Canada will now join over 40 jurisdictions and major markets that have already passed laws to end or limit cosmetics animal testing and sales.

“Around the world, rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, and rats were historically subjected to cosmetic testing including skin and eye irritation experiments, force feeding and lethal dose tests," said Bernard. "This is still happening in parts of the world but the cosmetic industry has taken a leading role working with groups like ours to innovate and find new solutions.”

A company that’s products have always been cruelty free is The Body Shop, a retailer that has worked alongside Cruelty Free International to campaign against cosmetic animal testing.

Through their campaign efforts, the company has collected over 625,000 signatures that were presented to Parliament.

“By 2019, we had 925,000 signed petitions by our consumers and teams. And here we are! We are quite excited,” said Donna MacNair, district manager for the Body Shop Canada.

“It’s nice that we’re going to be on the same playing field with companies that believe in what we’ve started, and what we’ve finished and will continue on," MacNair said.

As alternatives to, cosmetic manufacturers are using artificial skins, cornea models, in-vitro-assays, and organs-on-chip technology, according to Bernard.

Darren Praznik, president and CEO of Cosmetic Alliance Canada, said this bill is a symbolic gesture, "And an important one because Canada then joins the 40 plus nations who have passed it and it also gives momentum to expanding non animal testing methods into other sectors,"

Even though Praznik considers the new bill a win, he believes there’s still work that needs to be done to stop toxicity testing on animals.

“There is still a lot of animals used in other sectors and for other purposes, particularly the environmental side. I think this is part of a growing wave to find non -animal alternatives for non-toxicological testing,” said Praznik.