India is set to impose a ban on the import of cosmetics that have been tested on animals as there is cruelty involved when such tests are conducted. Those in India violating the new law will invite penal provisions, including imprisonment.
The Union health ministry has framed draft rules to amend the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules of 1945 to impose the ban. A new rule, 135-B, will be inserted into the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules of 1945 to enable the ban.
During animal-testing for cosmetics, harsh chemicals are dripped into rabbits’ eyes, tested on the skins of animals and, at times, even forced down their throats. Any cosmetic product tested on an animal now faces action as per the provisions of both the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Animal Cruelty Act.
Violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act by any person, corporate manager or owner is liable for punishment for a term which may extend to between three and 10 years, or a fine ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 10,000, or both.
The amendment to the law is expected to be enforced this month. The decision to change the law was taken after the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), the government’s chief advisory body on drugs, recommended this step.
India recently banned indigenous testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on animals after the cosmetics sectional committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) came up with revised standards for this purpose. The decision is in line with that of the European Union, which banned animal-testing and the sale of animal-tested cosmetics regardless of where those tests had been conducted.
Both UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and animal rights campaigner and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi have, in the past, raised the issue of animal-testing for cosmetics.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, too, has been campaigning for an end to animal-testing in the country for household products and ingredients.