Victory at last!

I can't stop smiling! When people ask me why is that, I tell them that not only is the animal testing for cosmetics finally banned in India, but cosmetics and ingredients tested on animals in any other country can no longer be sold in India.
Imagine rabbits no longer having their eyes held open forcibly while shampoo is being dribbled into them. Imagine hamsters and mice no longer being fed products forcibly to check their toxicity levels. And no more animals having ingredients put on them to check reactions such as skin irritation. This is the kind of cruelty that is soon going to be an obsolete practice in India, thanks to Humane Society International's N G Jayasimha.

The fight to ban cosmetic testing on animals in India was started by PETA when I was at its helm. I remember how we had a person dressed as a bunny following the then Minister of Health. No matter where he went, the PETA bunny would follow holding up a sign that said, 'STOP ANIMAL TESTING'. Getting ahold of his schedule and ensuring that we had our mascot there was quite a task! The ministry would tell us that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mandates these particular tests and since I was a member of the BIS Technical Committee, we started working on the revision of this law at the BIS.

I remember that even after Jayasimha left PETA, he did not stop fighting for the cause. After the BIS revision, Jayasimha managed to get the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India) to first prohibit animal testing within the country. Once that was done, the Humane Society International got a ban implemented on the import of animal-tested cosmetics in India, of course, after much opposition.

Testing cosmetics on animals is an extremely cruel practice. Laboratories around the country use animals such as rabbits, hamsters and mice for testing purposes. While rabbits undergo testing in their eyes for shampoo irritation, all animals undergo oral toxicology. Mucus toxicology studies skin irritation and eye irritation. Animals have no free will in this human-dominated world. Just because we can (be cruel), why should we (be cruel)?

But the writing is now on the wall. Animals are being recognised around the world as sentient beings and people are realising that animal models for testing are faulty. So I'm glad that India has taken a step forward. Now let's hope that China, USA and South Korea also follow in India's footsteps.

The ban on the import of animal-tested cosmetics has come five months after the ban on animal-tested cosmetics within the country, making it a dual victory.
"India becomes the first cruelty-free cosmetics zone in South Asia. "