By 2019, Taiwan has promised to end all forms of animal testing. Taiwan has become the latest country to “ban the sale of cosmetics products that have been tested on animals.” The recent bit of legislation that promises to end the cruel practice goes into effect by 2019.
Although the bill is popular, it took a while to make its way through the government. It was proposed last April and was officially passed by the Taiwanese parliament this week.
Read more about this giant win for animal rights activists below!
According to Global Cosmetics News, the legislation will come into effect in 2019, “amending Taiwan’s Control for Cosmetic Hygiene Act to outlaw cosmetic testing for both cosmetics ingredients and end-products.”
Although the ban will do wonders for products manufactured inside of Taiwan, it won’t change anything about imported products. Nevertheless, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), congratulated Taiwan on their progressive legislation.
“The #BeCrueltyFree Taiwan campaign, a partnership between HSI and the Taiwan SPCA, played a decisive role in securing this victory. Representatives from both these organizations worked closely with bill sponsors, legislators Wang YuMin and Zhuang Rui Xiong, along with key government ministries to advance the legislation. We gained the support of Taiwanese celebrities and launched innovative campaign strategies such as creating an educational video cartoon to play in taxi cabs across Taipei to harness public support for the ban.”
More major players in the world of animal rights spoke out about this success.
Claire Mansfield, HSI’s global #BeCrueltyFree campaigns director, said: “This is a moment to celebrate as Taiwan joins the growing international movement away from animal testing of cosmetics and takes the lead on ending cosmetics cruelty in Southeast Asia, becoming the first in the region to ban animal testing for cosmetics. It’s truly a victory for both animal welfare and compassionate consumers; and yet another achievement for the #BeCrueltyFree campaign. Unfortunately, Taiwanese consumers can still buy cosmetics cruelly tested on animals if the product is imported, so our sights are now set on campaigning for an end to the import and sale of newly animal tested cosmetics.”
This legislation catches Taiwan up to the standards of more than 30 counties. More than 1.7 billion consumers are protected from buying products tested on animals.
Partial bans on products tested on animals are enacted in the European Union, Brazil, and India.
The United States, Canada, and others are hard at work to adjust their animal cruelty legislation to match the best in the world.
Taiwan SPCA and #BeCrueltyFree Taiwan campaign coordinator Joy Liou said: “We are thrilled that Taiwan has taken this positive step and voted to end cosmetics animal testing. Testing cosmetics on animals causes them pain and suffering for test results that have never been proven reliable to assure human safety and don’t represent modern science. Today we celebrate this important victory, and tomorrow we look ahead to campaigning for a sales ban for products newly tested on animals outside of Taiwan, so that cosmetics cruelty can fully be eliminated from the Taiwanese market.”
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