Cruelty Free Products
The most effective way that any person can reduce animal suffering is to refuse to buy cruel products. Anyone who cares about animals should examine their lifestyle and eliminate actions and products that cause harm. For ideas on how to change your diet, go to Vegetarianism - the cruelty-free diet . To find out how leisure activities can harm animals, go to Animals in Sport and Entertainment .
Consider also how your shopping affects animals. For example:
-
fur, even small bits of trim, comes from animals caught in cruel traps or kept in small wire cages;
-
Akubra hats are made of felted rabbit furs;
-
leather is the skin of slaughtered animals;
-
feather down in doonas or sleeping bags comes from slaughtered birds;
-
wool involves the cruelty of mulesing and tailing, and all sheep end up at the slaughterhouse;
-
some souvenirs such as toy koalas are made out of animal parts, such as kangaroo skin;
-
raw silk is boiled out of silk worms.
There are good, cruelty-free alternatives for all these products.
Personal and household products can also involve cruelty. They may be tested on animals, or they may contain slaughterhouse products such as:
-
tallow, animal fat boiled out of slaughterhouse waste and used for most soaps;
-
gelatine, from the ligaments and feet of slaughtered animals;
-
elastin and collagen, from slaughtered animals.
You can make sure you avoid animal tested products and slaughterhouse ingredients by going to the Choose Cruelty Free web site and using the Preferred Products List
If you use Hormone Replacement Therapy, please make sure that you do not use Premarin . This brand contains oestrogens collected from pregnant mares’ urine, which condemns tens of thousands of mares to a fairly miserable life, and condemns most of their foals to be slaughtered. For more details go to Horse pee farms . There are many synthetic or plant oestrogen preparations that you could use instead. Speak to your doctor about these alternatives.
Choose Cruelty Free
The group called Choose Cruelty Free, based in Melbourne, surveys companies to assess whether they qualify for the Preferred Products List.
The minimum standard to qualify is that the company has not done any animal testing for at least 5 years. This standard applies to:
-
all products produced by the company - a company will not be listed if some of its product range is animal tested;
-
all ingredients as well as final products;
-
all associated companies and suppliers, so that companies can't get someone else to do animal testing for them.
A company has to fill out a detailed questionnaire about its products, and a declaration that the information is true, before it will be placed on the list.
A company will not be included if any of its products contain ingredients:
-
from animals specifically killed for that ingredients (eg scent from civet cats);
-
that cause pain and discomfort when extracted (eg musk from male deer);
-
from wildlife;
-
from the fur industry (eg mink oil).
Some of the companies on the list use slaughterhouse products such as collagen, elastin, gelatin and tallow. Companies that use NO animal products are marked with a V.
Just because a company calls its products "natural" or "herbal" doesn't mean they are cruelty free - they could still be tested on animals. Also, there are some companies who claim not to test on animals but who aren't on the list. This could be because:
-
they have declined to fill in the questionnaire;
-
they have not yet been surveyed or are in the process of being surveyed;
-
they do not meet the CCF criteria on animal testing or animal ingredients.
If you want to be sure you are buying products that haven't been tested on animals, always use the Preferred Products List when shopping.
Go to the Choose Cruelty Free web site, Preferred Products List.
If you would like to help the work of Choose Cruelty Free, you can make a donation or become a supporter. Contact:
Choose Cruelty Free
PO Box 12005 A'Beckett
St
Melbourne Vic 3000
Phone (03) 9328 1377
Fax (03) 9328
2117