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Animal Testing - You can help today.

‘‘An Animal Test is any scientific experiment or test which a LIVE animal is forced to undergo something that is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm” PETA

When I was 8 years old, I wrote a letter to the Home Office complaining about animal testing because I had just found out what it was and that most of the products we used at home, everyday, were basically the result of animals being tortured. I remember so clearly at 8 years old, how distressed I was and the desperation I felt to stop it. I wanted to make my life about helping those animals. And I’m ashamed to say it’s taken me 20 years to speak out again.

Why? Why is it so easy to forget what is going on and turn a blind eye? Because we all do. We are all guilty of it. And I think a huge reason is that these big companies know that these test are wrong and are geniuses at making us not think about it. But we have to. We have to help.

Did you know that approximatly 11.5 MILLION animals are used in animals tests across Europe every year? 11.5 Million. These tests include:-

1. Force feeding animals harmful substances

2. Exposing animals to radiation

3. Surgically removing organs and amputating limbs

4. Forcing animals to inhale toxic gas

5. Subjecting animals to frightening situations to create anxiety and depression

By the way, 70% of these tests are carried out WITHOUT the use of local anaesthetic, meaning the animals suffered from ‘Moderate’ to ‘Severe’.

And the animals are always killed after.

BUT WE CAN HELP - TODAY! All we have to do is stop buying products from the companies who carry out these tests. There are so many wonderful companies who don’t. All you have to do is look for the ‘Cruelty free bunny’ logo on the back of the product you are buying.

And you don’t have to worry about high costs because there is a huge spectrum of different companies who don't test on animals.

For example, 'Superdrug' own brand - one of the lowest cost brands out there - don’t test their own range on animals. And they have a wide variety of everyday toiletries.

If you are a make up fan - firstly - BOYCOT ‘MAC’. Or any company owned by 'L'Oreal' for that matter. Most of the companies who are under the umbrella of L'Oreal, sell in Asia and, legally, in order to sell in parts of Asia, you have to have had those products tested on animals.

But there are fabulous alternatives. The hugely popular ‘Charlotte Tilbury’ is an amazing brand who are cruelty free and are just as good, if not better, than other popular brands such as 'MAC,' 'Chanel,' 'Bobby Brown,' all of whom do.

For a full list of Cruelty Free brands, please check out

http://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/list-of-cruelty-free-brands/

All it takes is us to educate ourselves and boycott these brands until they stand up and change. And we can make a huge difference. By simply not buying these products, we can force them to make changes in their companies' ethics.

Think about this - you know when you get a bit of hairspray in your eye and it kills. That would have been on purposely sprayed into an animal's eye (probably a more toxic version) to see the effects it had on the eye. And there would be no washing it out with water. It would be left there to burn to see how bad the damage is to the eye. This could be hours and hours of pain.

In household product tests, chemicals would be tested on or injected into the animals' skin, or force-fed down their throats to check for side effects. These products you would use to clean your toilets. Bleach!

In reproductive tests, pregnant animals are force-fed chemicals to see if it causes abnormalities or death in their babies. Can you imagine the pain and the stress this would cause? All the while being locked up in small lab cages.

But again, there is no excuse, because there is an amazing company called ‘Method’ who are Cruelty free, Vegan and non toxic and they are available in nearly every super market. I couldn’t recommend this brand enough.

http://methodproducts.co.uk/

Just to put it into perspective, the animals used in these experiments are dogs, cats, rabbits, monkeys, mice, guinea pigs etc. Would you let someone do these things to your pet? And then kill them after?

We can’t claim animals are so similar to us that the results of testing on them are relevant to humans but on the other hand they are so different to us we can do what we like to them no matter how painful. Just because they can’t speak out doesn’t make them stupid or that they feel less pain than us. You only have to spend a few minutes with your pet, or any animal for that matter, to see how sensitive, intelligent and thoughtful they are.

Even in medical tests, we are so different. For example...

Penicillin kills guinea pigs but is inactive in rabbits, aspirin kills cats, morphine is a depressant in humans yet is a stimulant in horses, goats and cats.

It fundamentally and logically doesn’t make sense to continue this cruel act.

But we can make a difference if we choose to stick by our furry friends and only buy products who don’t test on animals.  We need to talk to each other about this and encourage our friends and families to take a stand on this. Because only together can we really help.

And the sad reality is, this article is only the very tip of the iceberg in revealing the torture these animals suffer everyday. For more information please check out http://www.peta.org.uk/

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Thank you so much for reading.