ANIMALS IN DRUG & COSMETIC TESTING

Abstract

Prior to the 21st century, any drug or cosmetic that came into the market had been subjected to some form of animal testing- the type of animal and the intensity of the test depending upon the product in question- to determine safety levels of the product. With the increased use of chemicals and synthesized materials in products, animal testing became an industry standard since the possibility of the product having a side effect on a human being increased manifold. While science considered animal testing to be the most advanced form of product testing, animal rights were completely neglected. In fact Dr. Gerhard Zbinden, one of the world's leading toxicologists, once described a standard in vivo test as little more than “a ritual mass execution of animals.” As per reports from PETA, over 100 million animals (including mice, rats, birds, agricultural animals, etc.) are killed each year in USA alone. Slowly with improvement in science and better, less invasive techniques of product testing having been introduced, industries adopting alternative to animal testing is the need of the hour. 

In recent times, India has taken several leaps forward with respect to banning of animal testing on drugs and cosmetics. Now, the Government is encouraging industries to adopt alternative methods of animal testing- the 3R Policy of ‘reducing’, ‘refusing’ and ‘refining’ the pain caused to animals through the testing. In addition to adopting the 3R Policy, India has also made amendments to the Drug and Cosmetics Act, 1940 in 2014 by inserting clauses that not just ban animal testing as a company standard, but also ban the importing of drugs and cosmetics that have been subjected to animal testing in other countries to India. This 2014 Amendment has played a major role in propelling India towards becoming a cruelty free country. In fact, India is the first country in South Asia to have banned animal testing in cosmetics and drugs. 

This paper will discuss the importance of animal welfare rights and the laws related to promoting such welfare right (e.g. the Prevention of Cruelty Act, 1960, etc.) This paper will also analyse the position of India compared to the other countries in the world with regard to the existing legal framework meant for protection of animal welfare rights. The paper will analyse amendments made to the Dugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules in 1945 in recent times and recommend certain changes/modifications to be incorporated for the future in order to successfully curb the menace of animal testing in industries. As common as it may sound, even though animals cannot communicate like humans do, they still have welfare rights that cannot be blatantly disregarded merely for the benefit of humans.