Canada has banned the testing of cosmetic products on animals, a largely symbolic move that aligns the policy with dozens of other countries.
The amendments to the Food and Drugs Act were included in this year's budget and will come into effect in December, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced on Tuesday during a press conference in Toronto to celebrate the change.
Duclos also referred to a survey that found that 90% of Canadians were in favor of the measure.
In addition to prohibiting companies from testing their cosmetic products on animals in Canada, the regulations prevent the sale of new products in this country that are based on animal testing data to establish product safety.
Animal experimentation has fallen out of favor in the cosmetics industry in recent years, as a result of similar legislation in the European Union that was introduced two decades ago.
When the EU introduced its ban in 2004, it invested millions of euros in research to develop alternatives to animal experimentation.
Comments