Humane Society International Launches Worldwide �Be Cruelty-Free� Campaign To End Cosmetics Testing on Animals

Delhi (23 April 2012) � Humane Society International has launched the
largest-ever global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics � Be
Cruelty-Free. Worldwide, the campaign is being launched from HSI�s offices
in Australia, Canada, Europe, India, and in partnership with The Humane
Society of the United States, with scientific outreach programs in several
developing cosmetics markets.

Be Cruelty-Free will be a truly global and formidable force for change and
aims to create the consumer awareness and political momentum needed to
achieve a worldwide end to animal testing for beauty and personal care
products.

N.G.Jayasimha, campaign manager for Humane Society International, said:

�Humane Society International is excited to be launching the Be Cruelty-Free
campaign to end cosmetics cruelty. In India thousands of sentient creatures
suffer unimaginable distress in laboratories to produce beauty products but
there is currently very little awareness about this hidden suffering. HSI
intends to change that by urging consumers, politicians and companies to
spare animals from pain by choosing to Be Cruelty-Free.�

Such testing is already banned in Europe, and a further ban on the sale of
cosmetics that have been newly tested on animals in other parts of the world
is expected to come into effect in March 2013. Indian law does not expressly
require animal testing for cosmetics whose raw ingredients are generally
recognised as safe according to national standards. Yet some companies
continue to produce or use new cosmetic ingredients and test these on
animals.

Be Cruelty-Free is launching with national petitions to end cosmetics
testing, which consumers are invited to sign online at www.hsi.org/becrueltyfree, with other actions to follow. HSI�s
cosmetics testing campaign in Europe has received support from global
celebrities such as Leona Lewis, Ricky Gervais, Spice Girl Melanie C, Sir
Roger Moore and Dame Judi Dench.

Cosmetics can easily be produced without animal testing by using the
thousands of existing ingredients for which safety data are already
available, and through the use of advanced non-animal testing methods such
as 3D human skin and other sophisticated cellular and computer models.