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Mumbai June .11:(TOI) Bollywood Actor Jacquline Fernandez during launch the campaign Ban Animal Testing for cosmetics purpose in Mumbai. A new campaign for the global ban on the cruel animal testing for various cosmetics products by the year 2020 was launched by the actor Jacqueline Fernandez, brand ambassador of a beauty company, in Mumbai on Friday. Partnering with the non-profit organization to end animal testing, Cruelty Free International, The Body Shop will take the campaign to the highest authority, the United Nations, and request an international convention banning cosmetics testing on animals.

The potential for animal testing is still a huge risk around the world, with over 80% of countries still having no laws against testing in cosmetics. Cruelty Free International estimates that approximately 500,000 animals are still used in some countries in cosmetics testing every year. Speaking on the campaign, Jacqueline Fernandez, said, "Real beauty cannot be achieved at the cost of harming anyone especially animals. The concept of animal testing for cosmetic brands should be banned. A socially responsible conglomerate would prefer not to implement testing measures that prove hazardous to anyone’s health. That’s why I extend support to The Body Shop’s noble initiative to end this atrocious practice across this industry by launching a campaign to spread a global ban on animal testing of cosmetic products and ingredients. I request you all to sign the petition and save our animals."

 "We are pleased to say that India was the first country in South Asia to ban Animal Testing in 2013. Our firm is proud to be a cruelty free brand and a staunch supporter of effective, modern, non-animal alternatives to cosmetic animal testing. With our ’Forever Against Animal Testing’ (FAAT) campaign we are asking our customers to help us end the unnecessary and out-dated practice of animal testing for good by signing the petition in our stores or on our website," said Shriti Malhotra of The Body Shop India.

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 Rules on animal testing in cosmetics are currently patchwork, with legislation differing around the world leaving consumers ill informed. Traditional animal tests have never been validated for their use in reliably detecting the safety of cosmetic products and ingredients. There are now modern alternatives such as artificially grown human skin, that are, in the majority of cases, as effective as the animal test they replace and have been validated by authorities.

 Michelle Thew, CEO of Cruelty Free International said: "People are confused about animal testing. The world over, people want this cruel practice to end, yet existing laws are a patchwork of different rules with some very big gaps. While more and more countries require non-animal safety tests and many have taken steps to prohibit cosmetics testing on animals, there is more work to be done. Where animal testing is allowed - on both products and ingredients - most countries do not require testing data to be made available to the public or even to regulators. This makes it extremely difficult to know how widespread animal testing is. What we know is that one single test may involve hundreds of animals. If just one company or one country relies on animal testing, the impact on animal lives could be huge. Because 80% of countries around the world still allow animal testing for cosmetics, a global ban is the only way to truly eliminate animal suffering. We are delighted Cruelty Free International and The Body Shop are together campaigning for a ban that would finally end animal testing forever."

 It is the most ambitious campaign ever against animal testing, and aims to engage eight million people to sign the petition calling on the United Nations to introduce an international convention to end the practice once and for all. The petition can be signed online. Consumers are being encouraged to use the campaign hashtag, #ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting, on social media to raise awareness of the issue.

 Cruelty Free International is one of the world’s longest standing and most respected animal protection organisations. Widely regarded as an authority on animal testing issues and called upon by governments, journalists, companies and official bodies for advice or expert opinion,it was the first major non-profit organisation to campaign against animal testing for cosmetics, dating back to the 1970s. Leading the 20-year campaign to ban cruel cosmetics in the EU, it has influenced bans in countries including New Zealand, India and South Korea.