VICTORY! Bill Proposed To Phase Out Animal Testing For Cosmetics In Russia
Members of the Russian Duma (Parliament) have drafted a bill, which would phase out all animal testing for cosmetics and their ingredients by 2020.
The draft law was authored by two members, Sergei Doronin and Igor Igoshin.
They argue that Russia’s manufacturing methods must meet European standards, so that local business can gain access to a larger market. This includes complying with EU rules on marketing in vivo tested cosmetics.
According to national newspaper Izvestia, some scientists and industry representatives say the bill would compromise consumer safety. But a public petition in its favour has attracted more than 200,000 signatures, Izvestia reports.
“It is very satisfying to be putting forward this proposal to bring Russia among the leading countries in the world for the ethical principle of no longer allowing animals to suffer for cosmetics. The input from Cruelty Free International on the legislation has been very helpful and I appreciate the global support for the initiative,” said Doronin.
“I look forward to the time when animals no longer suffer to bring cosmetics to market in Russia, and I’m pleased, with this bill, to contribute to the global effort by Cruelty Free International to end experiments of this kind and adopt modern non-animal alternatives,” added Igoshin.
Chief executive, Michelle Thew, said the bill “follows similar progress we have made in many other countries, following the EU ban on animal cosmetics tests, including in China, South Korea and Brazil, and confirms the international trend to bring the archaic practice of animal testing for cosmetics to an end.”
Bills to prohibit animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients have recently also been discussed in Turkey (CW 11 August 2015), Argentina (CW 9 July 2015) and Brazil (CW 3 June 2015).
The Russian draft law will become publicly available, after it has been discussed in Parliament. The CFI said the timing for this process is not clear.