Animal testing is an injustice that few people dare talk about in our society. For those few who do talk about it, even fewer do anything about it. It has become a societal norm. These animals go through daily torture for products such as shampoo and eyeliner. And these facilities do not simply use rats and mice; facilities commonly use dogs, cats, rabbits, and even monkeys for these tests. The images and stories are appalling.

The main reason that animal testing is used is so that we can make sure that the chemicals used in products will not irritate our skin or eyes. Now, in theory, this is a good idea. However, in my opinion, if the chemicals are so harsh that they have to test them just to make sure they will not melt my eyes, I am not exactly sure I want to use it. If the company does not test the product on animals, they need to be more careful about what they put in the product. This usually means the products are more natural and use less harsh chemicals. If these chemicals have even the slightest chance of boiling my skin, I don't believe that it should be allowed on the market. All animal testing allows companies to do is bring us closer and closer to a terrible chemical mistake via eyeliner.

My main problem with animal testing is the obvious animal abuse. I do not understand how all 50 states in the U.S. can have animal cruelty laws and yet animal testing is still legal. The definition of animal cruelty through the legal dictionary website is, "the crime of inflicting physical pain, suffering or death on an animal, usually a tame one, beyond necessity of normal discipline." Wikipedia states that, "Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the intentional infliction by humans of suffering or harm upon any non-human animal, regardless of whether the act is against the law." Does animal testing not cross the line into animal cruelty by this definition? Every state has a law against animal cruelty. Since this is the case, every facility should be shut down. Though it is a legal act, it infringes on cruelty laws and should, therefor, be stopped.

Cosmetic testing on animals is so common nowadays. Though it is common, I feel there is no need for it. The chemicals that are used when animals are tested on are much harsher than those who do not test. Also, testing on animals infringes on the animal abuse laws throughout the US states. I believe that animal testing for medical purposes is still a good idea as it helps create life saving medicines and vaccines, but I don't think animals need to suffer just so we can have our millionth black eyeliner just so this one can magically make our eyes pop (which it doesn't). Animal cosmetic testing is unethical and unnecessary and should be banned.

To find a list of cruelty free products click here: http://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-sear...

To understand your states laws on animal cruelty click here: http://www.straypetadvocacy.org/cruelty_laws.html