Say NO! To Cosmetic Animal Testing

3 Pages 751 Words

Millions of animals suffer and die in tests determining the safety of cosmetics. Substances such as eye shadow and soap are tested on guinea pigs, dogs, rats, rabbits and other animals, despite the fact that the test results do not help prevent or treat human illness or injury. Cosmetics are not required to be tested on animals, and since non-animal alternatives exist, it is difficult to understand why some companies still continue to conduct these tests. Cosmetic companies murder millions of animals each year just to make a profit.
According to the companies that perform these tests, they are done to establish the safety of a product and the ingredients. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which regulates cosmetics, does not require animal testing procedures. A few examples of the tests conducted are skin irritancy tests, eye irritancy tests, and acute toxicity tests.
Skin irritancy tests are a process which involves applying chemicals on an animal’s raw, shaved skin, and covering the skin with an adhesive plaster. The animals are immobilized in restraining devices to prevent them from struggling. Meanwhile, laboratory workers apply the chemicals, which often burn into the animal’s skin.
In eye irritancy tests, a liquid, flake, granule, or powdered substance is dropped into the eyes of a group of albino rabbits. During this procedure, which is called the Draize method, the animal is immobilized in stocks from which only their heads protrude, and their eyes are held open with clips. The rabbits usually receive no anesthesia during these tests. After placing the substance into the eyes, lab technicians record the damage to the eye tissue at specific intervals over an average period of seventy-two hours. The tests can last up to three weeks in time. Reactions to these substances often include swollen eyelids, ulceration, bleeding, swollen irises, massive deterioration, and blindness.
Acute t...