Canada has banned testing cosmetic products on animals, a largely symbolic move that brings the policy in line with dozens of other countries.

The amendments to the Food and Drug Act were included in this year害羞草研究所檚 budget, and will come into effect in December, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said at a press conference in Toronto on Tuesday celebrating the change.

害羞草研究所淭oday, Canada joins 43 other countries who have taken measures to ban cosmetic animal testing. Indeed our government has now passed legislation banning the testing of cosmetic products on animals.害羞草研究所�

In addition to barring companies from testing their cosmetic products on animals in Canada, the regulations prevent new products that rely on animal testing data to establish product safety from being sold in this country.

害羞草研究所淩arely do we see policy changes where everyone is on board, where activists, industry, politicians and Canadians all agree. Today is one of those rare days and it is worth celebrating,害羞草研究所� Duclos said, referencing a poll that found 90 per cent of Canadians were in favour of the measure.

Animal testing has fallen out of vogue in the cosmetics industry in recent years, as a result of similar legislation in the European Union that was introduced two decades ago.

The regulations shouldn害羞草研究所檛 result in any additional costs to the brands that sell the affected products, such as creams, lotions and makeup, said Darren Praznik, president and CEO of Cosmetics Alliance Canada.

害羞草研究所淭he reality is that animal testing is by and large no longer used by our industry and that has been the case for some time,害羞草研究所� he said in an interview this spring when the legislation was tabled.

When the E.U. introduced its ban in 2004, it invested millions of euros into research to develop alternatives to animal testing.

Even so, Praznik said, there were hurdles to getting Canada害羞草研究所檚 legislation passed. In 2015, for example, there was a private member害羞草研究所檚 bill to the same effect, but the cosmetics industry opposed it because of overly broad language.

害羞草研究所淚t was so badly crafted that if you made a pet shampoo for a dog or a cat, you wouldn害羞草研究所檛 have been able to actually try it on a dog or a cat to see if they liked it,害羞草研究所� Praznik said.

But once the industry group began collaborating with animal rights害羞草研究所� groups, he said, they were able to come up with a list of principles that worked for them both. From there, he said, Health Canada drafted the bill.

害羞草研究所淭he lesson is that if you can get stakeholders from different sides of an issue together and you have some good will, you can usually work out a way to move it forward,害羞草研究所� he said.

Still, there are some areas where animal advocates see room for improvement.

For example, the rules are not retroactive; products already on the market that originally used animal testing to establish their safety won害羞草研究所檛 be pulled from shelves.

Hilary Jones, ethical director at Lush Cosmetics, said the company would rather regulators throw out that old data and start anew, retesting existing products using cruelty-free methods. The company has been a vocal opponent of animal testing since its founding.

害羞草研究所淲e believe it害羞草研究所檚 unscientific to test on animals. It害羞草研究所檚 a very blunt, old-fashioned tool. So we害羞草研究所檇 like to see all cosmetics pass through new methods.害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淏ut are we happy with this legislation? Absolutely.害羞草研究所�

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