We did it! Canada’s House of Commons just passed a groundbreaking bill that will end some of the worst and most painful forms of animal experimentation.
Bill S-5, Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, is a long-overdue government bill that revamps the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), one of the most important environmental laws in the country that regulates toxic substances to protect people, animals, and the planet.
Bill S-5 requires the government to support and start using cruelty-free alternatives to toxicity testing on animals, empowers the government to make regulations about how non-animal testing should be done, and publish a plan within the next two years to promote animal-free toxicity testing methods.
Animal Justice and partner organizations worked with lawmakers to push forward amendments ensuring the bill includes a roadmap to reduce and replace the use of animals in toxicity testing.
Many toxicity tests fall into “Category E”—the most severe category of harm that animals can experience, according to the Canadian Council on Animal Care. Each year, up to 90,000 animals in Canada experience Category E toxicity tests that cause death, severe pain, and extreme distress. These tests can involve inflicting burns or trauma on unanesthetized animals, and forced ingestion or topical application of deadly substances.
We’re incredibly grateful for all of the compassionate citizens, politicians, and animal protection groups that worked to ensure the bill would ultimately end toxicity testing on animals. The bill will now return to the Senate for a final review before it becomes law.
Cosmetic Animal Testing Ban on the Horizon
The Canadian government recently introduced legislation that would finally ban the testing of cosmetics on animals as well as the sale of animal-tested cosmetics.
Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, includes a prohibition on cosmetic animal testing as well as fulfilling other initiatives in the 2023 federal budget. Banning cosmetic testing was one of the governing Liberals’ promises in the last federal election.
Help shape a cruelty-free future for animals in Canada. Sign the petition asking Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos to ban cosmetic animal testing as quickly as possible!
