Animal Testing: a beacon of hope

It is not all bad news, however, as my previous article suggested. There are a lot of things that we can all do to help bring this sad era of animal testing to an end. Whether it is something simple like signing a petition or something more challenging such as not buying any products that are involved in animal testing (it really limits your options, trust me), there is always something you can do.

If signing petitions is all you feel up to right now, then there are plenty of websites you can go to to get signing such as Change.org or for the Mars company, or for L'Oreal. But there are plenty of petitions out there, you can even google it.

If you are up for the challenge of not buying any products that tests on animals then you are in for a surprise. The main thing with buying your products is to remember to look for the Rabbit! The Rabbit logo is the symbol for the Choose Cruelty Free organisation and is placed on products that meet the specific demands of the Choose Cruelty Free organisation, that way you can be guaranteed that it's not tested on animals.

The list of companies that test on animals is never-ending and it can get quite complicated because big companies, such as L'Oreal, which has a boycott call on it for its ongoing involvement in lethal animal tests, owns smaller companies such as Garnier, and even The Body Shop. 

Although I can't cover every single company in the world, I can supply a list of companies that test on animals. They are:

- L'Oreal: owns Body Shop, Dermablend, Helena Rubinstein, Kiehl's, L'Oreal, Lancome,      Maybelline, Shu Uemura, Garnier, Elnett, Elvive, Matrix, Redken, Biotherm, Cetaphil

- Procter and Gamble: owns Baby Balsam, Vicks, Cruisers, Pampers, Swaddlers, Ambi-Pur,  Dawn, Fairy, Frebreze, Duracell, Anna Sui, Colorfast, Covergirl, Max Factor, Clairol, Decore,  Herbal Essences, Wella, Clinicare, Head and Shoulders, Pantene, Pert, Vidal Sasson, Olay,  Crest, Oral B, Gillette, Mum, Old Spice, Tampax, Whisper, Braun, Venus, Metamucil, Iams,  Eukanuba

- 3M: owns Scotch-Brite, Highland, Post It, Scotch, Futuro, Nexcare

- Church and Dwight: owns Curash, Batiste, Arm and Hammer, Pearl Drops, Spin Brush,  Ultrafresh, Femfresh, Nair, Dencorub

- Clorox: owns Handy Andy, Astra, Chux, Gumption, Armor All, Glad, OSO

- Colgate-Palmolive: owns Ajax, Nifti, Castle, Palmolive, Spree, Cuddly, Fluffy, Moresoft, Cold  Power, Dynamo, Fab, Hurricane, Love'n Care, Sard, Sanex, Mennen, Speed Stick, Soft Soap,  Cashmere Bouquet

- Energizer: owns Energizer, Eveready, Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Banana Boat, Wet Ones

- GlaxoSmithKline: owns Lucozade, Ribena, Biotene, Macleans, Polident, Pronamel,  Sensodyne, Panadol, Eno, Tums, Zantac, Lip-Eze, Zovirax, Panafen, Nicabate

- Henkel: owns Renuzit, Ant-Rid, Napro Palette, Schwarzkopf, Taft, Dry Idea, Fa

- Johnson and Johnson: owns Aveeno, Desitin, Johnson's, Splenda, Neutrogena, Clean and  Clear, Listerine, Reach, Tek, Carefree, Meds, Stayfree, Purell, Gamophen, Stingose, Band  Aid, First Aid, KY, Mylanta, Visine, Agarol, Anusol, Dymadon, Nicorette

- Kao Corporation: owns BioZet Attack, John Frieda, KMS California, Biore

- Mars: owns Masterfoods, Dolmio, Uncle Ben's, Promite, Advance, Dine, Kitekat, Optimum,      Royal Canin, Temptations, Whiskas, Catsan, Chum, Good-O, My Dog, Pal, Pedigree,  Principal, Schmackos, Exelpet, Golden Grain, Harmony, Trill, Kan Tong, Bounty, Celebrations,  Dove (chocolate), M&Ms, Maltesers, Mars, Milky Way, Snickers, Twix, Kenman, Skittles,  Starburst

- Reckitt Benckiser: owns Sugarine, Glucodin, Easy Off BAM, Exit Mould, Pine O Cleen,  Steelo, Harpic, Air Wick, Preen, Finish, Kwit, Dettol, Glen 20, Nu-Clenz, Calgon, Fiesta,  Napisan, Vanish, Crisp, Fabulon, Aerogard, Mortein, Pea-Beu, Scholl, Clearasil, Steradent,  Veet, Savlon, Euclatol, Nurofen, Lemsip, Strepsils, Durex, Saturn, Gaviscon, Optrex, Senokot,  Bonjela, Dispirin, Nurofen

- SC Johnson: owns Windex, Mr Muscle, Pledge, Duck, Freedom, Drano, Glade, Oust, Autan,  Baygon, Off!, Raid, Kiwi

- Shiseido: owns Bare Escentuals, NARS, Joico

- Unilever: owns Bovril, Continental, Oxo, Blue Ribbon, Magnum, Streets, Becel, Bertollli,  Flora, Olivio, Lipton, Bushells, Lan Choo, Domestos, Jif, Comfort, Drive, Omo, Surf, Sunsilk,  TRESemme, Vo 5, Dove (personal care), Pears, Simple, Toni&Guy, Ponds, St Ives, Vaseline,  Lux, Radox, Impulse, Lynx, Rexona, Lifebuoy, Conimex, Colman's, Maille, Bertolli, Chicken  Tonight, Five Brothers, Raguletto, Best Foods, Hellman's

- Wyeth/Pfizer: owns S26, SMA, Caltrate, Centrum, Paraderm Plus, Robitussin, De-Gas,  Chap Stick, Advil

- Beiersdorf: owns Nivea, Avene, Elastoplast

- Bic

- Joh A Benckiser: owns Cutex, NYC, OPI Nails, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Adidas, Playboy

- PZ Cussons: owns Morning Fresh, Trix, Duo, Radiant, Charles Worthington, Imperial  Leather, Original Source, Pure, Graphite

To learn more about which brands are ethical you should look at this Ethical Shopping Guide which you can buy as a pocket booklet or a mobile application.

If you would like more information about animal testing then check out the Unleashed website, the RSPCA website or even Wikipedia, and if you would like more information about the alternatives to animal testing then check out the PETA website.

And if you would like information about the big brands and their involvement in animal testing, you can click here for Mars, L'Oreal and Procter and Gamble or just google it!

What goes on behind the label: animal testing

As we all know, animal testing is a very common and popular practice across the globe. Although this should not be the case as there are plenty of alternatives to animal testing which does not result in thousands of helpless, innocent creatures being subjected to excruciating amounts of pain before they are killed.

There are many different types of animal testing and they range across many different animal species, which include cats and dogs. The animals used for testing are either caught in the wild, bred for the purpose of being tested, or are supplied by dealers who obtain them through auctions, animal pounds, newspaper ads or even sometimes through stealing, and this is often the case with cats and dogs. Although it is hard to say exactly how many animals are used each year it is estimated that around 50-100 million animals are killed annually through animal testing and they die either from the experiment they are put through or they are euthanised after it.

One of the tests is the Draize Eye Irritancy Test which is used to judge the affect a substance can cause to the eye. This test is usually performed on rabbits and is carried out with the rabbits, while conscious, being strapped down so that they can't move at all and because rabbits don’t have tear ducts like humans, the substance isn't washed away and there are clips on their eyelids so they can’t blink it off. As a result of these tests the rabbits often scream in the process and sometimes break their necks and backs trying to escape from the pain. The reactions caused by these tests include swollen eyelids, bleeding and blindness. Once the results are recorded the rabbits are either killed or put into another test. 

Another test is the Lethal Dose test which is a poisonous test that determines the amount of a substance that would kill an animal. The animals subjected to this test are forced to ingest substances through stomach tubes, inhalation, injection or applied directly onto their skin. Some of the results of these tests include convulsions, paralysis and bleeding from the nose, eyes and mouth. The worst part about this test is that it doesn't happen over a couple of days. Sub-acute tests last for 28-90 days and chronic tests can last for up to 2 years. 

Those are only two tests on a long list of tests that are performed. Others include oral toxicity tests, acute inhalation toxicity tests, dermal toxicity tests, carcinogenicity tests, neurotoxicity tests and plenty more.

Animal testing is completely unnecessary when there are plenty of non-animal methods that could be used instead which take less time to complete, are only a fraction of the cost of animal testing and are not affected by species differences which have no relevance to humans and therefore makes applying the results to us sometimes impossible.

So my question is, why do we test on animals? If you would like to read about how you can help, check out my article Animal Testing: a beacon of hope.

Love Lost

A couple of weeks ago I experienced the hardest day of my life. And that is because I had to put down my beautiful, adorable, 15 years and 7 months old dog. Her name was Muffin, a maltese/poodle. She was white and fluffy and about the size of a shoe box and she had the most beautiful  face in the whole world.

It happened like this: I got a call from my mum saying Muffin wasn't well, that she had been coughing, groaning, she couldn't walk and that she was taken to the vet. It turned out that she had fluid in her lungs. So I went home and mum tells me that she called the vet and they said to come in at 5pm to make a decision. Of course the first thing that went through my head, and everyone else's, was that she needed to be put down but I brushed that thought out of my head as quickly as it came because to even consider that little white fluff-ball not being in my life was too hard to bear.

There is one thing that you need to understand about my dog, even at 15 people mistook her for a puppy. She was bouncy, she was lively, she was always keen for a walk. She was small, eager and curious. She was such an active dog that the thought that she may die soon was simply unrealistic. One day she was perfectly fine, bouncing along the beach, sniffing everything within reach and then the next day, she was curled up in a blanket with heat packs and hooked up to an oxygen machine.

It has been incredibly hard coping with this loss. And it still seems slightly unreal. Even now, 17 days after her death, I still expect to walk downstairs and see her lying on the fluffy carpet. When I come home I still expect to walk in and be greeted by this happy little furball. I feel sometimes like I'm going crazy because I see a flash of something white in the garden and I think it's her. I think I hear the sound of her collar jingling as she walks around.

I have dreams about her, sometimes they're comforting, I'm just holding her in my arms or watching her run around the house. Other times they keep me up at night and make me scared to go to sleep because I dream that she's dying in my arms all over again and there's nothing I can do to save her.

A couple of days ago we received her ashes, and that is what she has now been reduced to. Her once beautiful, tiny body that was covered in creamy white curls has become a pile of ash in a box that could maybe fit a mug in it. And what do we do with her now? Bury her? Spread her ashes somewhere? I've decided to keep her for now. I know that the idea of keeping my pet dog's ashes is slightly strange and morbid but she was the best dog and my best friend throughout my childhood. The idea of letting go of her is not an option.

My only concern is that if I feel this deeply grieved about losing my pet dog, how on earth will I ever handle losing my mum or sister?

There is not a day where I have not thought of you my dearest Muffin, not a day where I have not shed a tear on your behalf, and I take comfort in the fact that you are suffering no more. You will be forever loved.

My beloved Muffin, a couple of hours before she passed away.

Animals At Their Best

Two elephants being affectionate at the Elephant Valley Project in Cambodia.

Animals At Their Best

A family of monkeys at Mt Popa, Myanmar

Happiness

What is the deal with poor countries that have been through the worst things imaginable having such happy and generous inhabitants? Take Cambodia for example. Not too long ago the Khmer Rouge were in control of this country and doing the most horrific things to the people.

The Khmer Rouge was all about the extermination of the intellects and they actually managed to turn people against each other, families were ripped apart because the children were brainwashed into thinking that people should be killed for being smart. A third of the population was killed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, all the doctors, the teachers, the philosophers, the academics, anyway who came from a family with people like that. All the intellects were called the 'new liberated' and the peasants and poor people were the 'old liberated' and the Khmer Rouge's influence was so strong that the old liberated actually turned against the new liberated. Young boys from poor families were taken from their home by the Khmer Rouge and were brainwashed into thinking that the intellects had to die, and he way that they would crack these young boys was to get them to kill babies by bashing them against walls. Among other things.

This didn't stop until 1998, so this is a pretty recent event, and if you think about it now, every Cambodian is either a descendant from a survivor, or a Khmer Rouge fighter.

But if you go to the country now you will meet so many people smiling and laughing and having a good time with each other. Just today my sister and I were jumping on a trampoline, and three little Cambodian children came in and joined us, a girl and two boys, all under 5, and they started jumping with us and laughing their asses off and showing us tricks and teaching us and holding hands with us. It was one of the most amazing experiences I've had in Cambodia. Similarly, in Battambang at the bamboo train, at the end of the line are a bunch of children who take you around the brick factories and talk to you all about it expecting money in return of their services, but after they had shown us around and we had given them money they stayed around to play games with us, like the kind of games you'd play in primary school - 'my aunty Anna played the piano twenty-four hours a day, split' - and they taught us these games and we stayed for ages playing these games with them. Women would sit and talk and laugh in markets or in workshops or just on the street. Men would play intense games of volleyball in empty plots and get really into it.

How does this happen? How is it possible that a country that has so recently seen so much devastation can be full of so many happy people? It's incredible, and inspiring.

Travels Abroad

It's amazing how backwards some countries can be with regards to infrastructure, politics and the government, education, health and just general living, yet they can be so far ahead in their treatment of animals.

I've started my first backpacking experience this year, albeit not alone but indeed without all the luxuries of travelling with parents. And my first destination without my parents was Myanmar (Burma), not the greatest idea, and definitely not the best country to start.

Myanmar, the longest running regime in the world, a country that has been through so much shit and endless turmoils, and yet somehow they still manage to show kindness to strangers. On so many occasions of the duration of my stay there, my sister and I were given free tours, or free drinks, or we'd buy something from a vendor and they would put something else in for free as a 'gift' as they'd say. It was just a country riddled with kindness. Every town we went to had a big board saying 'Warmly Welcome and Take Care of Tourists'. And this genuine kindness shown to us was extended as well to the animals.

In all the towns we went to there were cats and dogs everywhere, walking down the streets, lazing on the road. The thing with these dogs and cats, however, was that they were all well looked after. They all ate well, their fur was well groomed, they had no traces of disease and they were the most amiable animals, they'd wag their tail and come up for a pat. The cats especially were very friendly and would often come up and sit on my lap and fall asleep there quite happily. This was in the little towns mind you, this was definitely not the case in the big cities of Yangon and Mandalay. In these cities it was very much one man to their own, and this included animals. There were men and dogs lying on the street in dirt and disease, equally as unable to move as the other, just slowly perishing in the heat. There were dogs sprawled on the paths, disease overtaking them. That was a wake up call.

One thing that was particularly interesting about Myanmar was that people did not retire unless they were in the government. You worked until you died. We went on a hike through rice fields and farms in a small town called Hsipaw (pronounced see-paw) and our guide was a grandfather, literally. I could not guess his age but he was telling us all about his family and his grandchildren and he was explaining to us about the retirement issue and he said to us that he'll have to work until he dies. Later in the hike we came across a water buffalo and he told us that water buffalo are like friends to the Myanmar people. When they die they do not get eaten but rather buried in a respectable way. And because they do so much hard work throughout their life they get to retire. So even in a country that has a corrupt government, the animals can retire but the people can't.

Of course there's brutality in Myanmar as there is in any country but among it all they can still manage to find some form of kindness and gentleness to animals which I find is a quality severely lacking in western countries. We have become desensitised to these sorts of issues because now we are focused on consumerism and making sure that we meet the consumers demands no matter what it involves. And that is what is wrong with the world. We have lost the ability to be kind and instead we focus on making more money.