Cruelty-free

BUAV supporter Ricky Gervais[7] announced the campaign—now considered a deciding factor in the European decision to ban animal testing for personal-care products.

[8] The Leaping Bunny applies to a company's global market, and does not certify product that use animal testing anywhere in the world.

In more prolonged carcinogen tests, rats are force-fed a cosmetic ingredient over two years, monitored for cancer, and then killed.

A researcher applies a concentrated substance to the outer layer of the eye and observes over a span days or weeks for responses such as blindness, bleeding, hemorrhaging and ulceration.

As technology developed, outdated animal testing is being replaced with quicker, cheaper and more accurate methods.

Computer-based systems allow for isolation of a select tissue or organ to conduct tests in an extremely controlled environment.

Organizations such as PETA, Choose Cruelty Free, Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, and its offshoot organization Cruelty Free International have released lists of cruelty-free products and cruel products to boycott.

It is important to distinguish between cruelty free and vegan products because while it is common for people to use these two terms interchangeably, there are several key differences.

[15] Two organizations, Cruelty Free International and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, use rabbit icons to verify products as "cruelty-free", resulting in some manufacturers using rabbit icons to intentionally deceive customers into believing that their products do not use animal testing.

Laboratory rat
photograph
Reconstruction of a 1903 demonstration by William Bayliss , a physiologist at University College London , during which anti-vivisectionists said a dog was vivisected without anaesthetic.
An example of a generic rabbit icon; such icons are often used by manufacturers to intentionally confuse consumers into believing that a product is "cruelty-free".