Over 1.2 million validated votes have been collected as part of the European Citizens' Initiative “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics - For a Europe without animal testing”. This is the result of the final count. This means that the necessary threshold of one million signatures has officially been reached. The German Animal Welfare Federation, which supported the citizens' initiative together with other organizations, is delighted with the success, which is now forcing the EU Commission to take action.
“With their votes, European citizens have made it clear that the painful and questionable method of animal testing in Europe must come to an end,” says biologist Jessica Rosolowski, expert on alternative methods to animal testing at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “The EU Commission is called upon to guarantee and strengthen the ban on animal testing for cosmetics, to reorganize EU chemicals legislation and to develop a strategy for the gradual abolition of all animal testing.”
Once the valid signatures have been received, the demands will be explained to representatives of the EU Commission within one month and presented to the EU Parliament in a hearing within three months. Within six months, the EU Commission must finally state whether and what measures it will take in response to the citizens' initiative.
21 PERCENT OF ALL VOTES COME FROM GERMANY
A total of 1,217,916 validated votes were collected for the European Citizens' Initiative within one year. 21 out of a total of 27 countries reached the respective national threshold, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. A total of 257,988 people from Germany took part. This means that 21 percent of all valid votes came from Germany. “The high level of support from Germany should give the German government pause for thought,” says Rosolowski. “Something must finally happen at national level too. We need an overall strategy for phasing out animal testing.” In the view of the German Animal Welfare Federation, it is essential to promote human-based and animal-free methods more strongly in order to replace animal testing. In the coalition agreement, the German government promised to present a reduction strategy for animal testing, to increase research into and use of alternative methods and to set up an interdepartmental competence network. So far, nothing seems to have happened.
Note to editors: The German Animal Welfare Federation is also making its demands for an end to animal testing as part of the current “More animal protection now!” campaign: www.jetzt-mehr-tierschutz.de/tierheime
