Cosmetic Testing with Animals is Cruel

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The Cruelty of Cosmetic Testing on Animals

Each year, thousands of animals are brutally tortured in laboratories, in the name of cosmetic research. A movement to ban animal testing for cosmetic purposes has been gaining popularity, with many companies hopping on the bandwagon against this research. New alternatives have been developed to eliminate the necessity to test on animals. This is only a small beginning of what is necessary to end these immoral acts. Animal testing in cosmetics is useless and cruel, and can be accomplished by other methods of research to end the suffering of animals.

One of the many painful tests administered on animals in laboratories is the Draize Test. This experiment, introduced forty-five years ago by FDA toxicologist John H. Draize, "is used to measure the harmfulness of chemicals found in household products and cosmetics by observing the damage they cause to the eyes and skin of animals" (Products, 1, 97). The brutal result of these series of tests (usually on rabbits) leaves animals with mutilated, blind, or ulcerated eyes. At the end of these immoral tests, the animals are all killed to study their internal anatomy. (Products, 97)

This is just one of the countless barbaric tortures forced upon animals. Studies show that in 1994, over 3,500 animals were killed in the United Kingdom, with almost another 21,000 more used in France for cosmetic purposes only (Celebrities, 95). These numbers reflect totals in only two countries. Research by Congress estimated that as many as 22 million animals are used annually for experimental research (Testing, 96). This research is funded by over 5 billion dollars of tax revenue (Bio-Med, 97). These tax dollars could have been more effectively ...

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