HLS – which made a marginal profit on turnover of £73m in its last published figures in 2012 – conducted animal testing for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.
In addition, new material has been added to the section of the Act pertaining to animal testing for other research purposes.
Britain banned animal testing for cosmetic purposes in 1998, and Body Shop, Lush and Superdrug guarantee their products and ingredients are "cruelty-free".
Countries such as India and Israel have ended animal testing for household products and their ingredients, and it's time for all of Europe to do the same.
The campaign against suppliers of Huntingdon Life Sciences, a research laboratory that is regarded as one of Europe's most advanced centers for animal testing for biomedical research, had threatened to close the company and curb animal testing in Britain.
Last year, on World Day for Animals in Laboratories, and in partnership with LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, HSI launched Be Cruelty-Free, the largest ever global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics the world over.
Today, however, everything changes in the cosmetics industry: The European Union has strengthened its 2009 ban on animal testing for beauty products by stopping companies from selling cosmetics that have been newly animal tested anywhere in the world.
The British company, which specialises in animal testing for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, has long been the target of animal-rights extremists, whose violent attacks have frightened both employees and investors.
A three-page Home Office press release this month trumpeted a further advance: the end of animal testing for the production of finished cosmetics—a reform which, it turns out, would have spared a mere 252 rats, guinea pigs and rabbits last year.More serious reforms pose problems.
Many UK shoppers think the battle against animal testing for lipsticks and blushers is won, but over the past year four multi-nationals have been stripped of official "cruelty-free" status because of their activities in China where animal experiments are mandatory.
(EPA is currently exploring the use of these methods to prioritize which chemicals merit full-fledged animal testing for endocrine-disrupting effects).
