Verbatim report of proceedings

Wednesday, 2 May 2018 - Brussels

A global ban on animal testing for cosmetics (debate)

  John Flack (ECR). – Mr President, as a British Conservative I sometimes criticise the ambitions of this Parliament but on this occasion I am happy to praise them, just as many speakers before me, across the political divides, have done.

Some things are more important than party politics. For me, a key one is animal welfare. Care and compassion for our fellow creatures is surely the measure of our own humanity. The EU’s ban on cosmetic testing was truly groundbreaking. Although there are still some loopholes to tighten, I am proud to be part of a Parliament that is a true world leader on this issue. As co-sponsors, my European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group is now asking for the EU to show even more global leadership. I cheer this to the rooftops. If you ask people across the world whether they want cosmetics tested on animals you get a resounding no, but it still continues because big manufacturers and retailers put profit before compassion, and because we politicians have not yet done enough to stop them. So we must demonstrate by our own actions, as well as telling the world, that testing for cosmetics is a most callous form of cruelty. People cannot even pretend that it is to prevent illness or to save lives; this is cruelty for vanity’s sake. It is time to really end it, once and for all, across the globe. Let us all vote tomorrow for beauty without cruelty.