Law change to ban cosmetic testing on animals

The Government will introduce a change to the Animal Welfare Amendment Bill to ban the use of animals for testing finished cosmetic products and ingredients, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced today.

“To the best of our knowledge there never has been any animal testing for cosmetics in New Zealand, but this amendment will send an important message that this kind of testing is unacceptable to New Zealanders and will never happen here.”

Mr Guy has introduced a new Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) to the Bill before it is expected to be debated later today.

The new SOP bans animal testing in New Zealand for finished cosmetic products and ingredients, where those ingredients are being tested for the exclusive purpose of developing a cosmetic.

“The Government has decided to introduce an alternative to the original SOP introduced by Green MP Mojo Mathers because of concerns the wording may have been too broad. This could lead to unintended consequences such as banning testing on ingredients in medicines that New Zealanders depend on.

“I want to thank Mojo Mathers for her work on this issue. Although the Government has introduced slightly alternative wording, this amendment still captures the principle of her SOP.

“It’s important to note we already have a strong framework for any animal testing done in New Zealand. Any testing for products like medicines has to be approved by an independent ethics committee and has to show the benefits will outweigh any harm caused.”

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1503/Animal_Welfare_Amendment_Bill_SOP_March_2015.pdf

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