India bans import of animal tested cosmetics

Published: 15-Oct-2014

Humane Society India’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign reports that India has banned the import of newly-animal tested cosmetics

Humane Society India’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign reports that India has becomes the first cruelty-free cosmetics zone for newly-animal tested cosmetics in South Asia.

Humane Society International's #BeCrueltyFree campaign is celebrating a historic victory as India bans the import of cosmetics tested on animals after a certain date. Just a few months after implementation of a national ban on cosmetics testing in India’s labs, the import ban takes this a step further to make India the first predominately cruelty-free cosmetics zone in South Asia.

The ban is detailed in Rule 135-B that states: 'Prohibition of import of cosmetics tested on animals. - No cosmetic that has been tested on animals after the commencement of Drugs and Cosmetics (Fifth Amendment) Rules 2014 shall be imported into the country'. The ban will come into effect on 13 November, 2014 (30 days from the date of notification).

Alokparna Sengupta, Humane Society International/India’s #BeCrueltyFree Campaigns Manager, said; “With today’s historic ban on the import of newly animal-tested cosmetics, India has made history for animals in South Asia. This is a huge achievement that could not have been possible without the compassion of our government, consumers and industry. We feel confident that if this vision is applied to other areas of product testing, this can be a defining moment in the modernisation of India’s safety science, with potentially hundreds of thousands more animals spared pain and suffering.”

In June, HSI met with the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, to present a petition of more than 70,000 signatures supporting an import ban. Support from more than 30 legislators in the country has also has been critical.

India’s dual test and import ban mirrors that of the European Union and is the latest victory in a string of achievements for the #BeCrueltyFree campaign globally. Earlier this year, campaigners in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Taiwan and the US welcomed bills proposing national cosmetic animal test bans. Campaigners in China help to secure the removal of mandatory animal testing for many domestically-produced cosmetics in the country.

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