A senator in Brazil has submitted a new proposal that, if passed, would counteract animal testing loopholes in the country’s recently adopted bill.
Senator Cristovam Buarque has put forward the new proposal just a few months after Bill 70/2014 was passed by Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies, which introduced a ban on animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients. While on the face of the bill the ban looked positive, a number of loopholes were consequently exposed as a result of its wording.
The original bill only enforced a ban on animal test for finished cosmetic products, while a ban on animal testing for ingredients was made conditional on the availability of alternative test methods.
Senator Buarque has now submitted a proposal to change the wording to Bill 70/2014. The main changes include an immediate ban on testing finished products on animals in Brazil, and an amendment that prohibits new animal testing of any cosmetic ingredients within three years of the law’s publication. The sale of cosmetics subject to new animal testing would also be banned within three years, preventing companies from buying new ingredients in other countries that have been tested on animals.
Antoniana Ottoni is #BeCrueltyFree Brazil’s Legislative Officer with Humane Society International, an organisation that has long been campaigning in the country. She said: “We welcome these improvements to Brazil’s cosmetics bill and warmly thank Senator Buarque for listening to the many Brazilian citizens, lawyers, scientists and elected representatives who have supported a meaningful bill. A weak bill could have dire consequences and would fail to create any incentive for the cosmetic industry to turn its back on ingredients that have been newly tested on animals. We now urge the Commission of Science and Technology to adopt Senator Buarque’s amendments that will transform a once confusing and ineffective bill into a robust national ban. We are delighted that Brazil is now on track to become the largest economy in South America to stop cosmetic tests on animals.”
The proposal will be voted on tomorrow.
