Guwahati (The Stellar News): India with a new set of rules for strengthening the import ban on animal-tested cosmetics, becomes the first country in South Asia to ban the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on animals as well as the import of cosmetics that were tested this way. These rules are based on the fundamental principle that any harm caused to animals can never be outweighed by the potential benefit of new cosmetics.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India applauds the Union heath & family welfare ministry in New Delhi for the new cosmetics rules ‘providing a separate and updated regulatory framework for testing, manufacturing, selling, stocking, exhibiting, and importing cosmetics in India’ and also ensuring the ban on the import of cosmetics tested on animals is stringently enforced. PETA believes that ‘animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way’.
It may be mentioned that after a ban on the import of cosmetics tested on animals by the Union government in 2014, PETA India drew the its attention to apparent violations of this law.
Evidences were submitted to prove that cosmetics marketed by companies in India are also registered under the same name and for sale in China, where cosmetics tests on animals are mandated. PETA India pointed out that regulators in India were simply relying on the declaration received from the importers, rather than scrutinising the safety data generated to ensure compliance with the import and marketing ban.
To facilitate effective enforcement, the new rules now mandate that manufacturers and importers must submit safety data using only non-animal assessment methods, with documentation demonstrating the specific methods used. “We applaud the government for heeding our calls and taking a move to ensure stringent regulatory oversight over the cosmetics import ban,” said Dr Ankita Pandey, a research associate of PETA India, which is registered as a charitable company in Mumbai and was launched in January 2000, adding that the new rules should help upholding the ban in letter and spirit as intended by the legislators.
