India bans import of cosmetics tested on animals

Months after announcing a ban on testing of cosmetics on animals, India has banned import of such products and become the first "cruelty-free" cosmetics zone in South Asia.

Humane Society International, an NGO which had been campaigning for it, said government inserted a new rule 135-B in Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, banning import of such products.

"No cosmetic that has been tested on animals after the commencement of Drugs and Cosmetics (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2014 shall be imported into the country," the official notification said.

The notification will come into effect from November 13. "This is a huge achievement that could not have been possible without the compassion of our government, consumers and industry.

"We feel confident that if this vision is applied to other areas of product testing, this can be a defining moment in the modernisation of India's safety science, with potentially hundreds of thousands more animals spared pain and suffering," the NGO said in a statement.

India's dual test and import ban mirrors that of the European Union and is the latest victory in a string of achievements for the "BeCrueltyFree" campaign globally, it said. Animal Rights group, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also lauded the move.

"This is a message to the whole world, that India will not tolerate blinding bunnies for shampoo, mascara and other 'beauty' products — and this ruling now gives an upper hand to businesses who use superior, human-relevant, non-animal testing methods," PETA's Science Policy Adviser, Dr Chaitanya Koduri said in a statement.