LOUDER THAN WORDS ART AND ACTIVISM

Buying cruelty-free products is a great way to say no to animal testing. It’s easy; just look for a Leaping Bunny or Cruelty-Free icon. Or better yet, download the Cruelty Cutter app from the Beagle Freedom Project, which allows you to scan barcodes to see if a product has been tested on animals.

70,000 dogs undergo nightmarish lab experiments yearly in the U.S. alone. 96% are Beagles. Chimps, rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, hamsters, cats, rats and fish are also used to test cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, household products, dog and cat foods and pesticides and in toxicology testing and medical research. This occurs despite the fact that proven, effective alternatives exist, including computer modeling and in vitro and cultured cell testing. Science favors these alternatives because they're more conclusive, but animals continue to be used in the U.S. because they're more "affordable." 42 countries have banned or restricted testing cosmetics on animals, including the E.U., U.K., Australia, Guatemala, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway and South Korea.