FEPS position on the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘Save Cruelty Free

Call to action
1. Cosmetic testing on animals has been banned entirely since 2013 and therefore the objectives of the European citizens’ initiative “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics” have been met. FEPS and its member organisations support the implementation of this continued ban on cosmetic testing.
2. Call on the EU Commission to continue to reiterate the effective and appropriate regulation of the uses of animals in research through EU Directive 2010/63/EU ‘on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.
3. The Industry, Research and Energy Committee of the EU Parliament should undertake an inquiry into scientific innovation, discovery and leadership in Europe and barriers to the development of new, safer, more effective treatments.
Background
The European citizens’ initiative “For the protection of cosmetic products without animal cruelty and a Europe without animal testing” (“Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics”) aims to enforce an overall ban on research involving animals in Europe under the pretext of a ban on animal testing in the field of cosmetics development.
These experiments have already been banned in EU member states since 2004, with further tightening in 2009 and 2013 and FEPS and its members support this ban and its continued implementation.
In Europe, no cosmetic-specific substances that are tested on animals may be marketed.
The Federation of European Physiological Societies (FEPS) and its member organisations are concerned that this initiative is intended only as a pretense for a wider ban on the use of animals in all research by 2024.

Please read the entire consensus in pdf [+ here].