From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 12:01 AM IST

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India fired of a letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Bureau of Indian Standards reiterating PETA's call for a ban on the use of animals in product testing. The action comes after PETA obtained a letter from the prestigious Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (HFW) endorsing PETA's position. PETA had previously written to the ministry requesting the ban and held two spirited protests – one outside MOH&FW's office in New Delhi on Valentine's Day and another in Mumbai in April to mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories.

PETA, the ICMR and countless Indian citizens want to ban animal testing of cosmetics because the tests are cruel and old fashioned. The tests cause thousands of rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, rats and other animals to suffer and die needlessly. The outdated and ineffective product tests for which thousands of animals are poisoned, blinded and killed every year were designed in the 1920s as a crude way to test shampoos, cosmetics, hairsprays, and other personal care and household products. These painful and deadly tests are not only cruel but also unnecessary. New technology has made animal testing obsolete. More than 800 companies around the world have pledged not to use animal testing.

Although many companies have already voluntarily abandoned animal testing, the European Union (EU) will implement a complete ban on the animal testing of cosmetics in the EU next year. The ban includes a prohibition against marketing cosmetics products which were tested on animals, even if the products were made and tested outside the EU.

"Poisoning and blinding animals to test lipstick and mascara is not only cruel but also bad science", says PETA's senior vivisection campaign coordinator Dharmesh Solanki. "Caring consumers around the world are demanding an end to these deadly and irrelevant tests, and India must not be left behind."

PETA's joint letter to the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Bureau of Indian Standards is available upon request.

For more information, please visit www.CaringConsumer.com.

Source: Press Release Distribution via India PRwire