After strongly campaigning for a ban on testing of cosmetics and household products on animals, the animal rights group PETA has now urged the Health Ministry to ban the sale and marketing of such products in the country.
In June last, India became the first country in South Asia to ban the testing of cosmetics and its ingredients on animals, while it became the second country after Israel to ban animal testing for household products in January this year.
"Now that the Bureau of Indian Standards committees, that determine what tests are required for cosmetics and household products have removed animal tests from the relevant standards, there is no reason as to why they should be sold here," Chaitanya Koduri, PETA India Science Policy Adviser, said.
"Though the companies in India have been instructed to not practice this, but it doesn't ensure that the consumers will not use the products which have been tested on animals. Hence, we have written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to ban their sale in the country," he said.
The Drugs Technical Advisory Board under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also recommended earlier that there should be a ban on the import of cosmetics tested on animals.
Such a move would place India in line with the European Union, which has banned the sale of all animal-tested cosmetics, and Israel, which has banned the sale of all cosmetics and household products that are tested on animals.
A sales ban in India is expected to prevent companies from outsourcing testing and importing animal-tested beauty products back into India for sale.
"It will not only ensure that the consumers in India are not using such products but will also create pressure on other countries. For example, we import cosmetics from China which doesn't have a ban on animal testing," Koduri said.
"If we ban the import of animal tested products, China will also be under pressure to adopt the same testing standards if they want to indulge in trade with India," he added.
Koduri admits though more than 1,300 companies around the world have banned all animal tests in favour of effective, modern non-animal tests, but many still choose to subject animals to painful tests.
"Despite the availability of non-animal tests and ingredients that are known to be safe, many companies still choose to subject animals to painful experiments in which substances are dripped into their eyes, smeared onto their skin, sprayed in their faces or forced down their throats," he said.
