Mexican Senate green lights ban for animal testing for cosmetics

By Stephen Daniells

- Last updated on GMT

© MiroNovak / Getty Images
© MiroNovak / Getty Images

Related tags Animal testing Mexico

Mexico will become the first country in North America and the 41st country globally to ban animal testing for cosmetics after the country’s Senate gave its final and unanimous support to a federal bill that also bans the manufacture, import and marketing of cosmetics tested on animals elsewhere in the world.

The bill was championed by the Humane Society International/Mexico and ONG Te Protejo with its multi-year #BeCrueltyFree Mexico campaign.

In a joint statement, HIS and ONG said: “We are thrilled to see Mexico become the first country in North America to outlaw cosmetic animal testing, and commend our bill sponsor Senator Ricardo Monreal, and all congressmen and women for voting to end cosmetic animal testing in Mexico.”

In a Tweet​, Senator Monreal called the decision “historic”.

“We thank the Mexican Government for showing leadership on this important issue, and we will continue to work with them to implement the commitments and enforce a robust ban,” ​said Antón Aguilar, executive director of Humane Society International/Mexico.

“This is a monumental step forward for animals, consumers and science in Mexico, and this ground-breaking legislation leads the way for the Americas to become the next cruelty-free beauty market, and brings us one bunny-leap closer to a global ban.”

HSI also highlighted the support from beauty industry players such as Lush, Unilever, P&G, L’Oréal, Avon and others, who are working with HSI globally through the Animal-Free Safety Assessment (AFSA) toward policy alignment, and training measures to support smaller companies and government authorities in transitioning from animal testing to state-of-the-art non-animal methods, which are readily available and better at assuring human safety than the animal tests they replace.

With the addition of Mexico, animal testing for cosmetics is officially already banned in 41 countries, as well as 10 states in Brazil and seven in the United States. Three other U.S. states - New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York - are currently considering similar bills, and federal bills are pending reintroduction in both the U.S. and Canada.

Save Ralph

According to HSI, legislative momentum in Mexico was strongly influenced by its stop-motion animated film Save Ralph, the heartbreaking story of a rabbit “tester” brought to life by a star-studded multinational and multilingual cast. The HSI film attracted over 150 million social media views, over 730 million tags on TikTok, and generated more than 1.3 million petition signatures in Mexico. 

Actress and advocate Rosario Dawson, who voiced Bonnie in the Spanish version of the Save Ralph film, commented: “I was delighted to lend my voice to Humane Society International’s campaign to abolish animal testing for cosmetics, and could not be more proud to see the impact of #SaveRalph in leading Mexico to become the first country in North America to go cosmetics cruelty-free.”

Related topics Regulation & Safety