This month we brought our Forever Against Animal Testing campaign to the Ministry for Food and Agriculture in Bonn, the German government department responsible for animal welfare. German cruelty free consumers were Europe’s second largest group of supporters of our joint petition with The Body Shop, which calls for a global end to animal cosmetics testing. Signed by 8.3 million people, it is the biggest animal protection petition of all time.

Wearing bunny costumes and holding placards reading ‘Germany, help end animal testing for cosmetics everywhere and forever!’ our team was there to ask the country to take the lead in seeking a global end to animal-tested cosmetics. A letter was also sent to minister Julia Klöckner urging her to listen to the voices of the German people and help end animal cosmetics testing worldwide. 

Kerry Postlewhite, Director of Public Affairs for Cruelty Free International,  said: “We urge Germany – as a country committed to animal protection and consumer power – to take a lead in ending globally the cruel, outdated and unnecessary practice of testing cosmetics on animals. More and more countries are taking action nationally, but we estimate that half a million animals annually still suffer every year for cosmetics. It is time to stop this everywhere and forever.”

The letter was sent during the SDG Global Festival of Action in Bonn, a conference bringing together government officials, UN representatives, organisations and innovators to share ideas on how best to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Speaking at the festival on Friday, Kerry outlined why cruelty free cosmetics belong at the heart of Sustainable Development Goal 12 – responsible consumption and production. For more information about the conference read Kerry’s blog.