(pictured above: Me and "rock star", one of the many rabbits I fell in love with while working for the OSPCA)
As someone who opposes the SCA (see my previous posts in the "Be Informed" section of the blog), I'd like to present another reason for my opposition which is very near and dear to my heart. I consider myself an advocate for animal welfare, and as someone who has seen the effects of animal abuse, torture, and harm up close and personal during my time at the OSPCA (as well as with the continued emotional support my own rescue animals need), I can't bare to think of the ramifications of SCA being passed. The truth is that if this bill is passed, the cosmetic industry will be forced into even more animal testing than the EU Initiative has caused (see *more info note below). Certified Vegan and Cruelty Free Cosmetics will become a thing of the past if this bill is passed. In fact, the amount of animal testing will sky rocket without leading us to safer cosmetics for human topical use! There's no excuse for needless suffering and testing just for the sake of a bill. Can you imagine poor Rock Star (the bunny above) being tested on for the sake of legislation with no gains to speak of? The thought of it is ludicrous! A long time ago I devoted a large part of my heart to protecting precious souls like Rock Star from people who can't fathom that these creatures might actually feel pain, have emotional needs, and deserve a high quality of life. This devotion to protecting those who can't protect themselves has lead me to reach out to my blog readers to stop this bill from passing - a bill that would actually make increasing animal suffering a legal and required business practice for products that have already proven to be safe for human use. Please, if you feel as strongly as I do about STOPPING animal suffering, please oppose the SCA and follow this link for action steps to take against the passing of this bill.
(pictured above: winter 2008, Me and Chica, another beloved bunny in the care of the shelter I worked at.)
*More Info Note: When the European Union passed REACH, the proponents of REACH legislation suggested that the testing would use 9 million laboratory animals and the ongoing costs for conducting the tests would amount to €1.3 billion. The study now published by Costanza Rovida and Thomas Hartung suggests that the testing required would involve 54 million vertebrate animals and that the costs would amount to €9.5 billion (20 times more animals and cost 6 times as much as previously stated). Animal testing is the most viable form of testing for many of the allergen, toxicity, reproductive health (etc.) issues that HR 5786 purports to protect against, yet the very bill that is requiring the testing is calling for a decrease in animal testing and in fact is requiring a testing method that is ‘superior in scientific quality’ to animal testing. Unless humans can be used, sadly bunnies and primates are still the ‘gold standard’ for safety substantiation of data. - source, The Bunny Factor, Anne-Marie Faloda
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