The Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) on Monday urged the government to follow in the footsteps of China and the international community by banning animal testing for cosmetic products.
While China was the only country that had laws requiring animal testing for cosmetic products, that is no longer true after it lifted the requirement on Monday, Taiwan SPCA executive director Connie Chiang (姜怡如) said.
“This is a major step forward. Taiwan should follow this global trend. Let us distance beauty from cruelty,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Humane Society International
“The EU, Norway, India, Israel and other countries have already passed laws banning cosmetic product testing on rabbits, guinea pigs and other animals,” Chiang said.
“Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and the US have drafted bills prohibiting the sale of cosmetic products associated with animal testing,” she added.
Most Asian countries are moving in the direction of “cruelty-free” cosmetics, she said, adding that India already prohibits animal testing for cosmetic products, and last month imposed a ban on the sale of cosmetics that were tested on animals.
Photo courtesy of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
Chiang said Vietnam has banned the “Draize eye test,” a procedure in which drops of cosmetic ingredients are applied to the eyes of rabbits to test their effect.
The biggest progress was in China, which for the first time in 20 years amended its law on mandatory animal tests for cosmetics, she added.
“On the other hand, it is obvious that Taiwan has fallen behind on this worldwide trend,” she said.
In a statement, the Taiwan SPCA took exception to Article 7, Item 1 and Article 16, Item 1 of the Statute for Control of Cosmetic Hygiene (化粧品衛生管理條例), in which the Ministry of Health and Welfare requires that the listing of new chemicals used in cosmetic products must include technical specifications of the ingredients’ material properties.
That requirement necessitates the use of nonclinical trials for safety analysis, Chiang said.
“The nonclinical trials refer to animal testing, and these have led to companies conducting experiments on animals when they develop new products or add new chemical ingredients,” Chiang said.
“Lab workers drip chemicals into the eyes of rabbits and other animals, or apply chemicals via ointments to the animal’s shaven bare skin,” she said.
“At times, they even force-feed these animals with high doses of drugs or chemicals, which in some cases kill them,” she said.
“Scientists have in recent years proven that most forms of animal testing are unnecessary. They have shown their shortcomings in terms of accuracy of results, given that humans and animals have very different physiological reactions to various chemicals,” Chiang said.
The Taiwan SPCA said that many alternative methods to animal testing have been developed in recent years, and all of them have passed verification by the scientific community using the most rigorous international standards.
“There are more than 1,000 ingredients that have been verified as safe for human use. Compared with animal testing, [these methods] provide a faster, less costly, more humane and more reliable assessment of cosmetic product safety,” Chiang added.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS