Have you ever looked at the back of a Snicker’s Bar and wondered if a beaver’s secretion is what made it taste so good? Well, if you have, you’re right! Castoreum is a fluid extracted from a beaver’s castor sac, which is a gland located between the animal’s pelvis and the base of its tail. Many, may more commonly know this, as natural flavoring. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has quietly labeled Castoreum under a natural flavor, which entails, “any essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains these flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof….” To summarize the previous sentence in four words, animal cruelty has been made legal.
Isinglass, Casein, Guanine, Lanolin and Castoreum extractions all threaten the livelihood of animals worldwide. Endangered birds, aquatic species, and threatened mammals have multiple corporations chasing after them with a knife in hand. Most companies go through the cheapest route of extractions which almost always means animal cruelty is in the process. Covergirl, Maybelline, Clorox, Lysol, Listerine, Dove and even Pampers test on sensitive and harmless animals with money-savings in mind. When animals go through this testing, they are subjected to experiments that include everything from testing new drugs, to infecting with diseases, poisoning for toxicity testing, burning skin, causing brain damage, implanting electrodes into the brain, maiming, blinding, and other painful and invasive procedures (NEAVS.org). This shows that animal testing is equivalent to a death trap.
Few acts have been passed regarding this issue, including the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) which addresses the standard animal care at research facilities; this act excludes 95% of animals tested upon (aldf.org). Also, H 1848 is an act that ensures adequate care of animals in cities and towns (this bill is extremely general). These two acts have made little to no progress on the fight against animal testing, and have offered no source of education or solution to the public. What can be done about this? First, more legal action needs to be taken. Acts such as the Humane Cosmetics Act, which prohibits animal-tested cosmetics from being manufactured and sold in the U.S., can greatly advance this fight. To get these acts passed, society needs to be educated on animal-testing and the tortuous processes that these creatures endure.
Proper education can be achieved largely through the media, classroom education and UN action. The media, especially in today’s world, impacts our thoughts, perception, and our overall daily lives. A day doesn’t pass by without a constant notification from one of the many social networking sites available. Imagine if that notification related to animal cruelty, and the latest company that was participating in it. How much of a difference would that make? Would a mother still want to wrap her baby in a Pamper’s diaper after hearing what they did to a nearby farm? Probably not. Another source of education could be through classrooms. Children are the future of the world, and if they hear of these travesties, a huge change would be made. They would only let their parents buy cruelty-free brands, and educate others based off their own knowledge, creating a certain “domino effect” of education. For a widespread result, UN action needs to be taken. The UN is a large organization that consists of most of the world’s sovereign nations. If a committee relating to animal testing could be created, and given the ability to pass resolutions based on this, it would greatly effect the world’s view on animal testing. This issue is just as great as climate change, refugee placement, and terrorists. Lives are being lost on each account, no matter the species.
Many believe that this process of testing which animals undergo is more efficient and leads to a more accurate result based on the product at hand. If, by efficient, they mean deadly, blood-curdling torture, then that statement may be accurate. How can the act of burning flesh, causing brain damage, and infecting an animal with deadly diseases be labeled under the word “efficient”? Where has our sense of humanity gone? The fact that we need to chastise corporations and let them know that what they’re doing is “wrong” is extremely sad and upsetting. As someone who has been to multiple animal testing facilities, I can say, first-hand, that it is no secret that animals are being tortured in these labs. They are cruelly held in chain fence captivity, with raw and bloodied sores covering their bodies. They are covered in chemicals, urine, and feces from either themselves, or their neighboring captives. Companies who observe this, are constantly turning a blind eye; money is an obvious main objective.
It is also argued that animals and humans are very similar; and that we have the same organ systems performing the same tasks in more or less the same way, thus making animals a much better subject to test on (understandinganimalresearch.org). This should further prove how unjust animal testing is! The fact that both species are so much alike should dissuade companies from even considering animal testing as an option. Also, animals, although similar to humans, have the ability to react in extremely different ways, based on the product. This could lead to inaccurate conclusions in testing, and furthermore, harm the human population that is actively purchasing and making use of these animal-tested products.
Animal cruelty is only going to continue to worsen if matters aren't dealt with soon. The abuse and harm that these innocent animals are continuously put through is inhumane. Not only is the testing process unfair to these creatures but it also becomes unfair to the ones consuming these products. How is it acceptable to allow a label to say “natural flavoring” when the content in the substance is almost the exact opposite? When corporations are filling these products with the secretion of an animal, something most people find absolutely disgusting, the phrase “natural flavoring” is no longer valid. It’s time that we make a change in the testing process for these products and stop the animal cruelty that is demonstrated each and every day.