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India finally bans the import of animal-tested beauty products. With this it has also become the first South-Asian country to promote ‘cruelty free’ cosmetic.
The notification issued by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on October 13 clearly states that ‘No cosmetic that has been tested on animals after the commencement of the Drugs and Cosmetics (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2014 shall be imported into the country.’
India’s chapter of Humane Society International (HSI), Be Cruelty Free, said that the ban appears in the form of Rule 135-B, which prohibits import of cosmetics tested on animals. The notification will come into effect on 13 November, 2014 (30 days from the date of notification).
Earlier, India restricted use of animal for testing purpose. Now, it has banned the import as well.
The HSI campaign manager, Alokparna Sengupta said, “This is a huge achievement that could not have been possible without the compassion of our government, consumers and industry. We feel confident that if this vision is applied to other areas of product testing, this can be a defining moment in the modernisation of India’s safety science, with potentially hundreds of thousands more animals spared pain and suffering.”
In the statement, trustee of People for Animals, a Be Cruelty-Free India partner, Gauri Maulekhi said, “By working so diligently with the Be Cruelty-Free India campaign, our policy makers have put India on the map as a country transforming its laboratories and regulation from outdated test methods to state-of-the-art science. Animals, consumers, scientists and companies have everything to gain from such modernisation.”
In December, 2013, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board had recommended a ban on import of cosmetics tested on animals. This recommendation came after ban imposed on the import, marketing and sale of cosmetics and their ingredients tested on animals in the European Union and Israel. The Bureau of Indian Standards has also recently decided to remove animal tests for cosmetics.