It’s that time of year again, when Lush, maker of cruelty-free cosmetics, soaps, and lotions, begins the process of selecting the winners of its prestigious Lush Prize.
The company accelerates the work of those developing alternatives to animal testing by holding an annual competition that offers innovators the chance to win up to £50,000 (about $65,000) to further their efforts, so we’re pleased to announce that PETA’s Regulatory Testing Department (RTD) made the shortlist for the 2016 Lush Lobbying Prize for our work with government regulators to replace animals used in pesticide testing.
Working to Stop Cruel, Pointless Tests on Animals
Earlier this year, RTD’s ongoing efforts led to Canada’s elimination of a test in which dogs are poisoned with pesticides for an entire year. This work builds on previously successful RTD efforts that resulted in the elimination of the year-long test in the US and the European Union. And we won’t stop there: PETA scientists are now working to end the test in South Korea and Japan as well.
Another successful PETA intervention has led to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency increasing its efforts to reduce the numbers of animals killed in other painful tests, including those in which toxic chemicals are applied to their skin and eyes. We are also working with the agency to align its pesticide testing requirements with those of other countries so that data from non-animal tests performed for one country can also be used in the U.S., instead of testing on animals. For years, the adoption of non-animal tests had been hampered by disagreements between government and industry, but our scientists were successful in breaking the deadlock and bringing both sides to the table to address these issues.
RTD’s work will save thousands of animals used in pesticide safety testing. Should RTD win the Lush Prize this year, we’ll be in good company. Past winners have included PETA India for its work with Indian regulators on a cosmetics testing ban, PETA US’ Laboratory Investigations Department for its high-profile campaigns against organizations that test on animals and provide support services for animal testing, and the PETA International Science Consortium for its comprehensive approach to providing companies and regulators with information on and training in non-animal testing methods.
PETA Wins International Award for Exposing Gruesome Tests on Animals
What You Can Do
You don’t have to be a scientist to help prevent animals from suffering in experiments! Take action by sharing information on cruel tests on animals with your friends and family members.
