ADI: Animal group ask the nation to ‘spring clean for compassionate cupboards’ this World Laboratory Animal Day

Celebrities join the National Anti-Vivisection Society in asking the British public to throw out animal tested household products and request a future Government ban.

Nationwide – April 24th is World Laboratory Animal Day (WLAD) and to draw attention to the need for further government legislation to protect many animals, the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) and its many celebrity supporters have sent out a Nationwide request for a cruelty-free spring clean, asking the British people to replace any animal-tested goods with alternative products for truly compassionate cupboards.

In addition to raising public awareness over the issue of household and garden product testing, NAVS are calling on the government not to re-issue, or approve any new licenses for household product tests and follow in the footsteps of the recent EU cosmetic testing ban. This recent ban means that by 2013 no cosmetic products will have been tested on animals and in an age of safe, scientific and advanced replacement tests there is no reason why a household ban should not follow suit.

NAVS have also produced a comprehensive list of ‘animal-friendly’ products for people to use as a guideline when shopping for cleaning sprays and liquids. There are numerous supermarkets and high-street stores on the list, proving that the recent observation that consumers are becoming more compassionate is not only restricted to farm produce and cosmetics.

“There are a variety of household and garden products on the market today that are non-animal tested, so if the British public choose this one day in the calendar to spring clean against cruelty, they will be preventing the suffering of more laboratory animals.” Says NAVS CEO Jan Creamer. “I’m sure that the average person would be horrified to think that their money was directly contributing to animal cruelty, but unfortunately that is the reality when buying anything that isn’t labelled ‘not-tested on animals’.”

NAVS supporters have been raising awareness for WLAD with street collections and distributing leaflets that detail the many horrific and pointless tests that are carried out on animals, such as the Invaresk toxic paint test, carried out on rats to observe the effects on inhalation. Many celebrities are also backing the campaign for the abolition of animal-tested household goods and are speaking out about the importance of only buying non-animal tested products.

“I whole-heartedly support the call for an end to using household products” Says TV Presenter Wendy Turner-Webster. “I can’t bear the thought of using a cleaning spray which has been approved due to the appalling tests carried out on rabbits and guinea pigs. It’s so easy to check the back of a packet, or tube and see whether it says ‘not tested on animals’. If it does then it’s straight in my shopping basket, but if not then I won’t be putting my pennies in the pockets of those companies.”

Sentiments echoed by esteemed actress Julie Christie: “I support the call for an end to the use of animals for the testing of household and garden products, and for non-animal replacement testing methods to be introduced with all speed. The EU has already led the way by banning animal testing of cosmetic products – let’s now take the next step.”

For more information about NAVS, the Invaresk Paint test and the facts and statistics behind laboratory tests for Household and Garden products please contact pr@ad-international.org

ENDS