Save the Easter Bunny!
The Easter Bunny is on the way. Make this annual visitor feel extra-welcome by clearing your home of all those products tested on rabbits and other animals and replacing them with cruelty-free cosmetics, household cleaners, and personal-care products. Caring consumers who boycott products that have been tested on animals play a vital role in pressuring companies and government agencies to adopt more relevant and humane non-animal test methods.
Bullying Bunnies
Millions of rabbits are subjected to painful eye and skin tests for pharmaceutical and consumer testing in order to “prove” product safety for cosmetics and household products. Experimenters like to use rabbits because they are easy to cage, have large veins in their ears for drawing blood, and reproduce quickly.
The Draize eye and skin irritation-corrosion test dates back to the 1940s. During this test, rabbits are immobilized in full-body restraints while a substance is dripped or smeared into their eyes or onto their shaved skin. Laboratory technicians then record the damage at specific intervals for hours or days. Rabbits may suffer from swollen eyelids, irritated and cloudy eyes, or inflamed skin, and in the case of irreversible corrosive damage, they may endure ulcers, bleeding, bloody scabs, or blindness.
More Than Just ‘Test Tubes With Whiskers’
Rabbits are playful and inquisitive animals with distinct personalities, just like dogs and cats. They like to push and toss things around, climb and crawl over things, hop into the air, dig, and chew. Most rabbits love to be stroked and gently petted and may “purr” when content.
Clean Up Your Act for Easter
It’s simple: Buy products that aren’t cruelly tested on rabbits and other animals. There are hundreds to choose from, created by companies such as BareFace Minerals Cosmetics, The Body Shop, wet n wild, and many others. Look for your favorite brands on PETA U.S.’ free list of cruelty-free products.
