Cosmetic Animal Testing Research Paper

Words: 1010
Pages: 5

Cosmetic Animal Testing, No Longer Needed Every year, millions of animals suffer and die from having cosmetic products tested on them. Even though it may be hard to imagine with new technology and information, animals are still frequently used in testing labs to ensure the safety of a cosmetic product. According to the organization, PETA or People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, many well-known cosmetic companies claim that they do not test on animals in the United Sates which is true, but what they do not disclose, is that they pay China to test their cosmetic products on animals to see if their products are safe to sell (PETA, n.d.). Many testing methods that do not involve animals have arose and are proven to have the same results …show more content…
Animal testing causes great skin irritancy and causes severe illness in many animals that are used. A method called In Vivo testing, was conducted on rabbits, rats, pigs, guinea pigs and man. During the toxicological evaluation of the skin irritancy and absorption of a topical chemical called N-acetylcysteine, the study showed that “The skin of pig, guinea pig, rat and rabbit were, in that order, increasingly more permeable than human skin” (The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 1972). This statement means that the animals are affected by the chemical even worse than humans would be. This method of testing is no longer effective because human skin is different than animal skin and the accuracy of results decreases when cosmetics are tested on animals. This data is shown by Methodius J. Bartek, PH.D., John A. Labudde, PH.D. and Howard I. Maibach, …show more content…
The types of ways to test products on animals is abundant and cruel. The Humane Society mentions a few of the many tests that are performed on animals. The three mentioned were:
“Skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of restrained rabbits without any pain relief. Repeated force-feeding studies lasting weeks or months to look for signs of general illness or specific health hazards such as cancer or birth defects. [Lastly,] widely condemned "lethal dose" tests, in which animals are forced to swallow large amounts of a test chemical to determine the dose that causes death” (Humane Society, n.d.).
After these tests are conducted, the animals are killed by asphyxiation, which means that the body is in the state of oxygen deprivation. The animals are also commonly killed by having their necks broken or their heads decapitated, all while pain relief is not provided to the animal. (Humane Society,