Chrissie Hynde pens 200,000th signature to end animal testing for cosmetics

Rock legend Chrissie Hynde added her name to Humane Society International's CrueltyFree2013 campaign to end the sale of animal-tested cosmetics in Europe, becoming the 200,000th person to sign HSI's petition to end the use of animals in cosmetics testing.

In signing the petition, long-time animal advocate Hynde joins HSI celebrity signatories Dame Judi Dench, Leona Lewis, Sir Roger Moore, Ke$ha, Ricky Gervais, Melanie C, Louis Walsh, Virginia McKenna and Mary McCartney. A Europe-wide ban on selling newly animal-tested cosmetics is already passed in law but has never been fully implemented. Now, due to be fully implemented in March 2013, policymakers are threatening to delay the ban, perhaps by years.

"After all these years of consumers and animal welfare groups trying to enforce a ban, many cosmetic companies are still testing on animals," Hynde said. "Please check for a cruelty-free guarantee before buying a product and if it is not stated on the label, put it back on the shelf! Only by doing so can we see an end to the grisly practice of animal testing. Some of the biggest and most heavily advertised brands are still the guilty ones - don't let them deceive you! Check online with the Humane Society International if in doubt."

Animal testing for cosmetics is banned across the United Kingdom and European Union, but ingredients can still be tested on animals in other countries such as Brazil, China, Canada and the United States and then be added to cosmetic products sold in EU shops. Animals can have chemicals forced down their throats, dripped in their eyes and applied to their skin. Sometimes pregnant females and their unborn babies are exposed to cosmetic chemicals.

"It's a double standard for the EU to continue selling cosmetics produced using inhumane animal tests that are banned in its own laboratories," said Troy Seidle, director of research and toxicology for HSI/Europe. "To end this suffering, it's vital that the EU ban on selling animal-tested cosmetics is enforced in full and on time, providing animal-testing companies abroad with a major financial incentive as well as the moral imperative to at last go cruelty-free."

CrueltyFree2013 is part of HSI's global Be Cruelty-Free campaign, the largest-ever initiative to end animal testing for cosmetics worldwide. Be Cruelty-Free has been launched in Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India to work with consumers, policymakers and companies to create a world where no animal has to suffer for the sake of cosmetics. Check out hsi.org/becrueltyfree for campaign news and cruelty-free consumer advice.