Imagine this. You're in a cage in an unfamiliar room. All kinds of people in white lab coats are walking around checking other cages as well as checking yours. Then, one of the people in white lab coats takes you out of the cage and leads you to another room. You have no idea what's going on, and you're terrified. All of a sudden, the person sticks a needle in your side. You scream in pain. The person in the coat writes down a few things, takes you back to your cage, and the whole process starts again just a few minutes later.
If this experience sounds unpleasant, that's because it is. This is what animals are subjected to every day in cosmetic labs all around the world. They have no voice, and cannot stand up to their tormentors. They are forced every day to participate in horrible procedures that most of us cannot even imagine.
People have been performing experiments and tests on live animals since the 4th century BCE. Many historic experiments, such as Ivan Pavlov's classical conditioning, Louis Pasteur's germ theory, and insulin therapy for diabetes, used animals as test subjects. Today, animals are used to test both cosmetic products and pharmaceuticals.
Why animals? Because they can't say no. What human wants to have hundreds of needles stuck in them that could potentially kill them, blind them, or cause other bodily harm? When using that logic, animal testing becomes the obvious choice. However, this doesn't mean that it is the only choice. Many alternative methods have been researched and found to be just as useful in both industries as animal testing.
In 2013, the European Union enacted a ban on animal testing in the cosmetics industry. This law states that no products may be tested on animals, and no product that was tested on animals may be sold on the market. This is a major step towards cruelty-free cosmetic products, but it is one of the only laws of it's kind. Three years later, most countries around the world still allow cosmetic testing on animals. These practices are not only inhumane, but they are unethical and unnecessary with today's scientific advances in safe experimentation. There should not be a need in the 21st century to test products on animals for safety.
Everyone can do something to stop this inhumanity to animals. We can stop buying products from companies that test on animals. We can buy only vegan products. We can contact our local legislators and demand reform for these helpless animals. They may not have a voice, but we can give them one.
