Animal testing licences for makeup banned

The government has banned the issuing of licences for animal testing of chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics products.

The government had allowed animal testing for makeup ingredients to resume despite a 25-year ban.

A recent court ruling said the government changed a policy on animal testing to align with EU chemical rules.

But Home Secretary Suella Braverman said no new licences will be granted.

A ban on animal testing for makeup ingredients was introduced in 1998 and is still in place, but the government said it changed policy to match rules in the European Union (EU).

In 2020, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), an EU agency which oversees chemical regulation, ruled that companies needed to test some ingredients used in cosmetics on animals to ensure they were safe for workers manufacturing the ingredients.

Earlier this month, it emerged that since 2019, the government had been issuing licences for animal testing of cosmetic ingredients in line with EU chemical rules, which it retained despite leaving the EU in 2020.

The news of continued testing on animals outraged some cosmetic brands and animal rights groups, which said the government had effectively lifted the ban.

In a written statement to Parliament, Ms Braverman said: "The government recognises the public concern around the testing on animals of chemicals used as ingredients in cosmetics, and the new opportunities available to us to depart from the EU testing regime.

"I can confirm, therefore, that from today no new licences will be granted for animal testing of chemicals that are exclusively intended to be used as ingredients in cosmetics products.

"The government is also engaging with the relevant companies to urgently determine a way forward on these legacy licences."