A “massive” loophole in the law banning animal testing for cosmetic purposes allows testing of mice for the production of Botox, it has been claimed in the Dáil.
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said there is a ban on animal testing for cosmetic purposes across the EU but because of the loophole Botox can be tested on animals “even when it is produced for cosmetic rather than medical purposes”.
Mr Murphy made the claim as he introduced his Animal Health and Welfare (Prohibition of Animal Testing for Botox) (Amendment) Bill in the Dáil, as a “warning shot” to corporations to introduce humane alternatives to animal testing.
“Ireland is the world capital of Botox production,” the Dublin South-West TD said.
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“We are also the European capital, unfortunately, of animal testing for Botox. In 2020, 32,000 mice were used to test Botox-type products out of a total of 92,939 painful animal experiments performed in Ireland that year. Botox testing accounts for more than one in three painful animal experiments in Ireland.”
He said that each batch of Botox is tested using the LD50 test, which involves injecting a sample of Botox, “the brand name for the nerve poison botulinum toxin A” into the abdomen of mice.
Mr Murphy said “it causes the mice to suffer horribly for three or four days. It makes them go blind and paralyses them. It either makes it so hard for them to breathe that they die from suffocation, or it prevents them from reaching food and water so that they die from hunger of thirst. If that sounds barbaric it is because it is. The worst thing is that all of this suffering is entirely unnecessary.”
Humane alternatives to animal testing exist, he said. “Modern cell-based tests for Botox potency that do not use animals were developed years ago but despite this, animal testing for Botox continues to be used.”
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The Allergan corporation is the biggest Botox producer, manufacturing over 80 per cent of the global stocks of Botox in Westport, Co Mayo and in 2011 it got regulatory approval for a non-animal test in the US, Canada and the EU, he said, adding that the multinational made €1.5 billion in profits in 2022.
“Other companies, including the German company Merz and the French manufacturer Ipsen, have also received approval in the EU and Switzerland for cell-based tests. They have the money and the technology to completely eliminate animal testing for Botox and share humane testing technology with all companies working in this area.”
Mr Murphy claimed animal tests are still being used because some manufacturers “do not want to pay more for humane testing, and others do not want to potentially reduce their profits by sharing their humane testing technology with others”.
He quoted one of the founders of the modern environmental movement Rachel Carson who once said that “until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is - whether its victim is human or animal - we cannot expect things to be much better in this world.”
People Before Profit agreed with this and “we think the vast majority of ordinary people do too,” Mr Murphy said. “The problem is that profit-hungry corporations and the governments that do their bidding across Europe do not. They are the reason that animal testing, particularly for cosmetic purposes, still exists.”
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