Animal Liberation

ICYMI, last week we had World Day for Laboratory Animals. And yet, animal testing still goes on in the UK and around the world on many products including medical devices.

Like me, you may be wondering, “What is a medical device?”

The UK government definition is: 

A medical device is any apparatus, appliance, software, material or other article, whether used alone or in combination, intended by the manufacturer to be used by human beings for a medical purpose. For example, walking sticks, contact lenses and breast implants.

So, I was surprised when at the Natural and Organic Products Show, I asked one of their vendors if their products were vegan and cruelty-free and the response was a wince.

The owner replied, “We wanted them to be cruelty-free (not tested on animals), but the regulators in the UK insisted that we test on animals before we could make the medical claims we wanted to and have the products available on prescription.”

Now by this point, you might be thinking, “Well, if the tests are for medicines then that’s fair enough.” But the products in question are vaginal lubricants and vaginal moisturisers - products that most women (that’s 50% of the population, in case you needed reminding) will need when they are going through perimenopause or menopause.

So these are products that will be used on vaginas.

The founder told me how they had asked to adopt the 6 guinea pigs that were used after the testing, but were told they had to be incinerated.

They cried.

This is a classic case of bureaucracy over common sense.

The common muff bears no resemblance to a guinea pig, so any test would yield results that only apply to guinea pigs.

Moreover, tests are available (like those offered by XCellR8) to prove the mildness of products to ensure they can be used on delicate areas, which use in vitro methods which yield far more accurate results.

So on World Day for Laboratory Animals, commit to only ever buying products that are vegan and cruelty-free.

(Also, it is not enough to just buy cruelty-free products as this means they use animal-based products in the ingredients, which is inherently both cruel and exploitative).

And seek out brands that are doing the right thing as much as they can within guidelines, by asking questions of them. I email companies all the time with questions and most respond within 24-48 hours. Often the answer is the products are not vegan but your question will prompt questions internally.

The brand I asked at the beginning of this story is: Yes Yes Yes

Please buy their products so those guinea pigs were not killed in vain.

(Not an ad!)