Victory! New York Becomes The 10th State In The U.S. To Ban The Sale Of Cosmetics Tested On Animals

In another historic gain for animal welfare in the United States, New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul signed the New York Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act into law. Beginning this month, the new law will prohibit the manufacturing and sale of cosmetics in New York State that have been tested on animals.

As previously reported by WAN, animals who are experimented on for cosmetics suffer through painful testing. Rabbits have chemicals dripped into their eyes or rubbed onto their shaved skin. Guinea pigs and mice have substances smeared onto their skin to determine allergic responses. Rats are forced to ingest large amounts of chemicals to determine the “lethal dose” that eventually kills them. Pain relief is rarely provided, and the animals are killed at the end of these painful experiments.

“With Governor Hochul’s signature on this legislation, New York State officially recognizes that cosmetics testing on animals should be a thing of the past, and has joined the growing number of states and companies calling for a stop to these experiments,” Brian Shapiro, New York State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, said in a statement. “With the increasing availability of non-animal test methods and thousands of existing ingredients, there is no excuse to continue harming animals for the sake of products such as shampoo, aftershave or mascara.”

“Now, it is up to Congress to pass the Humane Cosmetics Act to bring about a consistent standard for ending cosmetics animal testing across the country,” concluded Shapiro.

New York has now become the tenth state in the country to pass a law to ban the sale of animal-tested cosmetics following California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, and Virginia. The state laws closely mirror the provisions of the federal Humane Cosmetics Act.

Testing cosmetics on animals is both cruel and unnecessary because companies can already create innovative products using thousands of ingredients that have a history of safe use and do not require any additional testing. Plus, modern testing methods have replaced outdated animal tests. These non-animal technologies are often faster, less expensive, and more reliable predictors of human safety.

Please help push for the reintroduction and passage of federal legislation, H.R.514, The Humane Cosmetics Act, that would end the suffering of millions of animals who are needlessly tortured and killed to test cosmetics in the United States. Sign the Care2 petition, HERE!

You can help all animals and our planet by choosing compassion on your plate and in your glass. #GoVeg