Save Ralph is a wake-up call that animals are still suffering for cosmetics, and now is the time for us to come together to ban it globally.
Johannesburg, South Africa (01 April 2022) – Each year, untold numbers of animals suffer and die for cosmetics testing around the world. Some of these cosmetic animal tests were devised as far back as the 1940s, and involve cosmetic chemicals being dripped into the eyes of rabbits, or smeared onto their skin, without pain relief.
Sadly, this practice is still allowed in South Africa today, and is even still a legal requirement in some parts of the world. Humane Society International/Africa, working with some of the world’s leading beauty brands, calls on the South African government to outlaw cosmetic animal testing once and for all.
Today, there is an abundance of modern non-animal solutions available for assuring cosmetic safety. Many of the newer tests have been shown to better predict human responses than the animal tests they replace, and can also be cheaper. Forty-one countries and counting have put an end to the unnecessary testing of cosmetics on animals – but sadly South Africa, the largest cosmetics market on the continent, isn’t yet one of them.
Recent polling shows that over 90% of South Africans support a ban on cosmetic animal testing (‘testing ban’) and 86% support a ban on the sale of cosmetics that have been tested on animals (‘sales ban’). HSI/Africa says it is time for the South African government to join the global cruelty-free movement!
In 2021, Hollywood filmmakers and actors including Taika Waititi, Ricky Gervais, Zac Efron, Olivia Munn and others joined HSI to create a stop-motion animated short film, Save Ralph, which poignantly draws attention to the ongoing reality of cosmetic animal testing. Ralph’s story quickly went viral and brought about massive successes – spurring a cosmetic animal testing ban in Mexico, furthering a similar bill in Chile, additional state bans in Brazil and the USA, and critical work toward the introduction of federal bills in Brazil, Canada and the USA.
Along with the film, HSI/Africa launched a petition to call on the South African government to ban cosmetic animal testing within the country, which has garnered almost 90,000 signatures to date. This year, the petition will be submitted to the Department of Health, under the Food, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act to illustrate the growing support for a ban on cosmetic animal testing and trade.
Joseph Mayson, HSI/Africa’s animal law, policy & testing specialist, says that implementing a ban would not only save animals from a life of suffering, but would also better align South Africa with cosmetics markets in the European Union and India, the largest cosmetics market in the world, and one of the world’s fastest growing markets respectively.” In addition to pursuing legislative bans, HSI and our partners are collaborating to develop a much-needed training program in animal-free safety assessment to support smaller companies and government authorities transition from animal testing to state-of-the-art non-animal methods. Mayson is encouraged by the prospects of the campaign in South Africa: “With the help of our partners, growing public support and solid scientific backing, we have a real opportunity to get a cosmetic animal testing and sales ban passed.”
South Africans! You can help by signing HSI’s petition at hsi.org/saveralph and sharing the petition on your social media platforms.
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