Colombia Set to be First South American Country to End Cosmetic Animal Testing

Colombia, South America just passed a new that will ban cosmetic testing on animals in its entirety by 2024, becoming the 41st country to pass similar legislation. The bill has been in the works since 2018, initially introduced by vegan House Representative Juan Carlos Losada and was passed unanimously by the Plenary of the House of Representatives in Colombia.

Beauty products, cleaning products and hygiene products are all effected by the law

This ban applies not only to cosmetics but also to cleaning products, feminine hygiene products, and absorbents used in diapers that are produced in Colombia, and contains the following provisions:

• Tests using animals are prohibited during research, development, and commercialization of categorized products.
• All categorized products that are produced, traded, imported or exported into and out of Colombia must bear a seal that states, “Not tested on animals.”
• The Colombian government shall generate incentives to support the exportation and commercialization of categorized products that are not tested on animals.
• The Colombian government shall generate incentives to support scientific research programs that develop alternative testing models to facilitate the avoidance of using animals as testing subjects.

"Bravo Colombia for making a huge step forward in Latin America and ending the suffering of animals in cosmetics tests. Animal Defenders International urges other nations to follow Colombia’s historic, compassionate action," said Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International.

Co-author Senator Richard Aguilar delighted in the unanimous passing of this bill which will go into effect in four years, saying, "Today, Colombia becomes a better and more humane society. The prohibition of cosmetics testing on animals will avoid the suffering of thousands of sentient beings and lead to the development of new methods of research."