Israel's new animal welfare law bans cosmetics testing

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-1-2 9:59:00

 A legislation, which takes effect Tuesday in Israel, officially bans the import, marketing and sale of any toiletries, cosmetics and detergents that were tested on animals in their development.

The ruling, which was passed in 2010 and mirrors a 2004 European Union law, however, allows for certain non-drug ingredients.

"Animal testing in the Cosmetics Industry inflicts horrific suffering on these animals," Labor party member Eitan Cabel said of the new legislation, according to a statement sent to Xinhua.

"Each product requires between 2,000-3,000 tests, and animals die in agony," said Cabel, who heads a parliamentary lobby advocating animal rights.

The new guidelines are "a true revolution in animal welfare in Israel," Cabel said. "We've come a long way in the last Knesset term and this law in the pinnacle of our efforts."

Cabel hopes the act will encourage "a change in perception that will end animal testing altogether," the statement read.

Posted in: Mid-East

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