Victory! Yakult Honsha Ends Animal Experiments After PETA U.S. Appeal
PETA is praising Tokyo-based Yakult Honsha, which makes probiotic products that are sold around the world, for ending all experiments on animals. Just weeks after PETA U.S. contacted the company, it agreed to ban the studies on animals that it had been conducting in order to make health claims about its products.
PETA U.S. approached the company after learning that it had fed mice probiotics and then subjected them to radiation and infection. Some were fed apple pomace extract and then forced to run on a treadmill until exhausted.
PETA U.S. pointed out that the results of such tests are irrelevant to human health. What’s more, these experiments weren’t required by law and involved common human food ingredients that have no toxicity concerns.
Yakult agreed. In a letter to PETA U.S., its president stated that the company, including its Korean subsidiary, will no longer perform any experiments on animals and instead will conduct only animal-free studies.
PETA applauds Yakult for embracing modern, human-relevant methods of research. It now joins a growing list of companies that have agreed to eliminate animal tests after discussions with PETA U.S., including Barilla, The Coca-Cola Company, House Foods, Kikkoman, Lipton, Ocean Spray, POM Wonderful LLC, and Welch’s.
What You Can Do
Go cruelty-free! The best way to stop companies, universities, and charities from using animals is to refuse to purchase their products or give them donations. Write to tell them that they won’t receive your support until they stop testing on animals.
Take a stand against animal testing by pledging to support only cruelty-free companies and charities. You can find out which of your favorite products are animal-friendly by searching PETA U.S.’ online database of companies that do and that don’t test on animals.
