Animal cruelty: a preventable crime

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I love my MAC lipstick. I’ve always thought that you couldn’t put a price on a decent lipstick, until I learned that MAC Cosmetics, along with many of my favorite makeup brands test on animals. Are my favorite beauty products really worth the lives of multiple small animals?

The Animal Welfare Act of 1996 sets the minimum standards of care and treatment provided for certain animals bred for commercial sale, used in research, transported commercially, or exhibited to the public. This act has done much to protect our furry friends and keep animal extortion to humane levels, but even this isn’t enough.

According to DoSomething.org, labs and testing centers that use mice, rats, birds, reptiles and amphibians in their research are exempted from protection under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Though the United States has tried to regulate animal cruelty in product testing, more than 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused each year in United States labs. Though many companies pride themselves in not testing animals in the United States, many have moved their testing centers to China where it is legally required to test on animals before distributing a product.

These companies have the complete ability to tailor their products to be safe for customers without harming animals. According to The Humane Society, cosmetic companies can create safe and healthy products by using thousands of ingredients that have a long history of being secure. Companies also have the ability to develop different ways of checking if products are chemically safe for users. Nearly 50 of these cruelty free tests have been developed to provide a safe alternative as well as being highly cost effective.

Using People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) website, you can search for cruelty free products that work just as well. Next time you go to pick up moisturizer or eyeliner, take into consideration the animal that had to get that cream or liquid smeared near their eye or on their skin to make sure it is safe for people. Then realize there are many kinder alternatives to animal testing.

The “animal cruelty free” mark on cosmetics is not a perk, it is a necessity. Picking out and supporting brands that embrace humanitarianism and kindness towards living creatures is fundamental to guaranteeing that your products were not tested on animals. Be more aware of what you buy and how it may affect another creature. New products, from non-PETA certified companies, were most likely tested on animals before they appeared for sale. Everything with a heartbeat has to live on the earth with you. Creatures without a voice can’t fight for themselves. Find a way to make your beauty routine animal friendly.