Canada has banned testing cosmetic products on animals. It's a largely symbolic move that brings Canada's policy in line with dozens of other countries.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Canada’s ban on animal testing of cosmetic products is a step toward limiting, and eventually eliminating, the use of animals for many other scientific tests, said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos Tuesday in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
After announcing that Canada would ban animal testing of products including makeup and shaving cream, Mr. Duclos said the government is planning more work to further reduce tests on animals.
“I think we all realize we’re moving in the direction of protecting animals, their health and safety,” said the minister.
The ban, which was included in legislation implementing the budget, follows a pledge to phase out the testing of chemicals on animals earlier this month. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault included the measure in an update of federal environmental protection legislation.
The cosmetics industry and animal-welfare groups welcomed the ban. But animal advocates said Tuesday that they want to see the cosmetic animal testing ban extended to pesticides and other forms of toxicity testing, as well as the replacement of many animal experiments in labs with proven non-animal alternatives.
Testing cosmetics on animals has significantly decreased worldwide and is rare in Canada. The European Union, Britain, Australia and South Korea have already prohibited cosmetic animal testing.
Troy Seidle, vice-president of research and toxicology at the Humane Society International/Canada, said Health Canada’s regime now sets the international standard, and is stronger than a parallel law in the European Union.
Mr. Seidle said the Humane Society now wanted to see moves toward ending toxicity testing on animals and more funding directed toward replacing outdated animal tests in labs. He said innovative methods including bio-engineering and tests on lab-grown mini-human organs, including hearts and lungs were now being widely used outside Canada, enabling many tests on animals to be replaced.
Mr. Duclos said evolving new technologies are removing the need to test on animals in many areas.
“There are fastly evolving technologies that make it possible not to have to use animals to test safety and efficiency of different products. In Canada, in vitro treatments, computer technology, AI, there are all sorts of technologies quickly progressing that make it likely, and eventually possible, to remove the need for animal testing on all sorts of products,” the minister said. “That would be great because it’s obviously aligned with what Canadians would like to see.”
After the ban on cosmetic testing comes into force in six months time, companies producing cosmetic products such as body lotion, in Canada and abroad, will have to prove that animals have not been used to test them or their ingredients. But cosmetics historically tested on animals or containing ingredients tested on them in the past will not be removed from Canadian shelves.
“We can’t change the fact that data was produced on the basis of animal testing,” Mr. Duclos said. “What we are focused on is the prohibition of future testing of cosmetics on animals.”
Liz White, director of the Animal Alliance, said the ban on animal testing marked a major breakthrough after decades of campaigning. “The fact that Minister Duclos brought this over the finish line is a very important step forward,” she said.
She said there needs to be more funding directed toward viable non-animal testing methods including in labs.
Health Canada said it is working with international organizations, including the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods to develop, validate and implement effective alternatives to animal testing.
Kaitlyn Mitchell, director of legal advocacy at Animal Justice, said Canada was lagging behind some other countries, including Britain, in the regulation of animal testing in laboratories. She called for more government oversight – with unannounced inspections – to check that animals were not being cruelly treated and standards were being adhered to.
Canadians “would be shocked to learn about the lack of oversight of labs in Canada,” she said.
While the ban has been seen as a step in the right direction, animal-welfare campaigners, including singer-songwriter Jann Arden, expressed fear that ministers are backpedalling on a 2021 Liberal election pledge to ban the transport of Canadian horses for slaughter in Japan. The horse meat is used for basashi, an expensive sashimi delicacy served at high-end restaurants.
Ms. Arden told the Globe Tuesday than many Canadians were disappointed by lack of action so far.
The minister said the government was not planning to renege on the promise. “We did commit to doing that, then we will do it,” Mr. Duclos said, adding that it “needs to be done in the proper way.”
In the past five years, more than 14,500 large horses – including draft horses – have been flown from Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg to Japan, with a value of almost $93-million, according to Statistics Canada.