To this very day, corporations are still testing drugs, cosmetics, and household products on animals; some products are even required by law to be tested on animals. And here’s the kicker: PETA stated that “no experiment, no matter how painful or useless, is against the law—and painkillers aren’t required”. To top it all off, animal testing isn’t even reliable.
As a matter of fact, the National Institutes of Health stated that 95% of medicines that test safe and effective in animals fail in humans since our bodies respond differently. And guess what? Internationally validated and accepted non-animal replacement tests that more cost-effective and reliable are readily available.
So, Why Are Companies Still Doing Animal Testing?
Dr. Melvin Andersen, former director of the Division of Computational Biology at The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, stated in an article from PETA, “The reason we use animal tests is because we have a comfort level with the process … not because it is the correct process, not because it gives us any real new information we need to make decisions. Animal tests are no longer the gold standard.”
In short, not only is animal testing extremely cruel but scientific advancements have made them completely unnecessary! So let’s work together to ban animal testing in laboratories for good by living by these 7 things:
1. Buy only 100% cruelty-free products
Show non-cruelty-free companies that your hard-earned money only goes to those that care for an animal’s well-being by buying cruelty-free products. All they care for are profits, right? So let’s get them to listen by making those numbers drop!
2. Raise awareness about non-cruelty free companies
Choose Cruelty Free has extensive lists of names and logos of cruelty-free companies, as well as those that have been removed. Check their website out and share what you discover with others so they, too, can steer clear of non-cruelty-free companies.
3. Share posts about animal testing
Since practically everyone is on social media, take advantage of online platforms to inform people about the horrors of animal testing by sharing posts from organizations dedicated to ending animal testing, such as PETA, Humane Research Australia, Save Our Monkeys, and Beagle Freedom Australia.
4. Speak out against non-cruelty-free companies
You don’t necessarily have to stand outside buildings holding pickets (unless you want to, of course) to raise your voice against companies that continue to test on animals. There are smaller ways to do so and still make an impact.
Whether it’s writing a strong-worded letter to authorities, reporting animal experimentation in schools or laboratories to anti-cruelty organizations (like PETA), or signing petitions, you can make a difference.
5. Say no to live animal dissection in schools
Unfortunately, a lot of schools in the U.S. have live animal dissection as a part of their teaching process. While it’s not necessarily animal testing, it still falls into the category of animal experimentation and should be banned.
Photo source: ArtSheep.com, Knitted by: Emily Stoneking
There are plenty of humane alternatives to animal dissection and there’s no longer a need for requiring students to kill and cut open a live animal. If you’re a student or a parent with a kid that doesn’t want to partake in the cruel practice, the dissection-choice policy gives you the choice to say no to participating.
If your school or state doesn’t have a dissection-choice policy, you can send a report to PETA.
6. Research a health charity before donating
When you donate to a health charity, there’s a chance for your contribution to be used to fund research that involves animal testing. Visit Humane Charities to make sure that you’re donating to one that doesn’t support animal experimentation.
It’s also a good idea to let the charity know that you specifically don’t want your donation to go towards experiments involving animals to make it clear to them that their donors are concerned about animal welfare.
7. Support organizations fighting against animal testing
Whether through becoming a member, donating, signing petitions, or simply sharing their social media posts, you can help organizations win the battle against animal testing.
Here are 5 (of the many) awesome organizations that need our support:
- PETA
- The European Coalition to End Animal Experiments
- Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
- Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics
- Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing
