Canada bans animal testing and trade in cosmetics

In what is being hailed as a monumental victory, the Canadian government has passed a bill that will prohibit animal testing and trade within the cosmetics industry.

Made through the Budget Implementation Act, the measures will also ban the selling of products that rely on new animal testing data to establish their safety, as well as false or misleading labelling pertaining to the testing on animals.

Canada joins over 40 jurisdictions and major markets to have implemented and passed laws to end or limit the use of animal testing in both research and sales.

The passing of the bill was celebrated by both cosmetics brands and animal protection groups alike, with Lush in particular calling the move a “monumental victory”.

The company has been a consistent supporter of animal rights since 2013, regularly campaigning in both its stores and Parliament, with its funding towards the cause amounting to over two million dollars.

One of its long-term partners, the Humane Society International, also celebrated the news, further noting that it had been working with the Canadian government over several years to advance such legislation.

In a release, the organisation’s deputy director, Michael Bernard, said: “With the passage of these historic measures to ban cosmetics animal testing and trade, Canada is getting a cruelty-free makeover.

“We are so thrilled that our government has listened to the millions of Canadians who want the products they buy to be cruelty-free.

“This legislation truly shows the great things that can happen when government, industry, the nonprofit sector and the public work together to create a better future.

“Canadian consumers can finally rest assured that the cosmetics they purchase have not come as a result of animal suffering—and that is something we can all feel good about.”