New York Governor Kathy Hochul, signed the New York Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act in to law this past week. Effective January 1st, 2023, companies will no longer be legally allowed to sell cosmetics that have been tested on animals and could face fines of up to $4, 000 if convicted. The law will also force manufacturers to find non-animal testing methods or face fines. New York joins 9 other U.S. states in banning cosmetics tested on animals.

Cosmetics testing on animals is beyond exploitative and unnecessary. There is no argument in defense of cosmetics testing when you consider that in most cases, cosmetics are not necessities, rather, novelty items. Animals are subjected to repeated tests which include having products rubbed on their skin, dripped in their eyes, or consumed in order to determine whether there are any possible reactions to said products or ingredients found within them. These animals are left to suffer with lesions, rashes, and irritations, until their usefulness is up and they are euthanized / discarded. Literally, born in a cage to have lotions, lipsticks, and creams, rubbed all over them for their short lives. Worst of all, these tests do not 100% of the time translate to human results. Essentially, we are abusing animals and don't even know for sure if the results of these tests will be applicable to humans because at the end of the day, rabbits and humans are different. Go figure.

Look, I don't agree with animal testing whatsoever. I do not believe that rats or rabbits experience the same irritations that humans do and I don't see any necessity in subjecting them to numerous tests when the results aren't even guaranteed. We aren't talking about life-saving medicine here, we're talking about lipstick or face creams, products that frankly, humans should be the ones having tests done to in order to determine these things. Like, these products are far from necessities and yet we basically torture animals to find out if we'll get a little rashy rash from your new cream. It's ridiculous. 

Hopefully, as U.S. state's individually step up and ban animal testing for cosmetics, we'll see some action on a federal level. There is no necessity in cosmetics testing and animals do not deserve to be subjected to those tests for beauty products. We cannot be that vain when animals are literally suffering. Congratulations New York State and as mentioned, here's to hoping more states and eventually, the entire country / world have abandoned animal testing for comsetics. You want a new lipstick? How about YOU worry about whether it'll hurt ya or not ;)

​www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/nyregion/pet-store-ban-ny.html

After much deliberation, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, signed legislation that will ban the sale of dogs, cats, and bunnies, from pet stores in an attempt to shut down puppy mill traffic throughout the state. The legislation will affect New York's approximately 80 pet stores who argue this ban will put them out of business and make it harder for pet owners to obtain pets legally. Despite this, the legislation was passed and pet stores will no longer be legally permitted to sell these animals.

Puppy or kitten mills relentlessly breed animals for profit. Often times, these pure-bred animals have underlying health issues that are rarely addressed before adoption leaving pet owners with staggering veterinarian bills. These puppies or kittens are part of a system and are nothing more than products to these breeders. One can argue that there are "responsible breeders" but the fact of the matter is, they're making money off of pure bred animals while shelters burst at the seams with adoptable animals. We all know how alluring a pure bred puppy can be, that's exactly why they're doing it. That allure prompts us to spend thousands of dollars when a shelter dog would cost a fraction of that amount and would be given a second chance at a happy family life.

Responsible or not, these facilities are the reason that shelters are struggling to care for the animals they have. They are the reason that shelters in some cases, euthanize to allow for more animals to come in. These breeders / breeding facilities, supply pet stores with adorable puppies / kittens that draw our attention away from shelters. The pet stores then profit off of the mills that are breeding them, continuing the cycle of exploitation all while shelter animals struggle to find loving homes. I don't care about the pet store owners in all honesty. They can shift their business to a pet store supply or something else for that matter, they have to understand that they are in part, responsible for shelters struggling to find homes for animals.

I'll never argue that maybe, some of these pet store owners had good intentions. Maybe they truly care for the animals that they bring in. All of this aside, they're contributing to a system that sees dogs bred relentlessly for profit while shelters fight to have animals adopted or fostered. They are actively working against rescue opportunities whether they intend it or not. Perhaps they can work with shelters to adopt out shelter animals in a partnership of sorts. There are ways they can remain open and help the shelter population without being supplied cute little puppies that could have come from horrid situations.

Congratulations to New York for their commitment to ending puppy mills and supporting the many shelters that continue to work tirelessly to get their animals in to loving homes.

​worldanimalnews.com/victory-the-big-cat-public-safety-act-passes-the-u-s-senate-bill-now-heads-to-president-bidens-desk-for-signature/

The Big Cat Safety Act has passed through the United States Senate and will now head to President Joe Biden's desk for a final approval. The Act prohibits private ownership of big cats and puts protections in place for cubs at roadside establishments, zoos, and circus'. This monumental animal welfare motion will crack down on big cat ownership & prevent future big cats from being exploited as cubs or caged as pets. As stated, the final decision falls on the President which I'm confident he will sign in to law in support.

When it comes to cubs, the Big Cat Public Safety Act will ban direct contact with cubs at circus', roadsides, and other establishments. In some cases, cub handling has been promoted by these establishments as a form of entertainment. Bottle feeding cubs, selfies with cubs, hugging or holding cubs, etc., these sorts of seemingly innocent activates are actually exploitation and harmful to cubs. These establishments continue to breed big cats in order to continue to have adorable cubs to interact with. The cycle continues and once these cubs are no longer cute and cuddly, they're shipped off to other entertainment venues to continue their life of forced performance and confinement. This cycle of exploitation sees big cats taken advantage of and denied their natural instincts from the moment they're born.

The Big Cat Safety Act is a necessary step towards protecting wildlife and curbing the exploitation of wild animals for human entertainment. Learn more through the link at the top of this post to the original story from World Animal News.

​worldanimalnews.com/montana-court-denies-new-effort-to-protect-wolves-which-now-allows-killing-40-of-the-states-wolf-population-this-winter-to-continue-take-action/

A Montana court struck down a preliminary injuction that would have curbed wolf hunting / trapping methods until a lawsuit from 2 conservation organizations was heard. The court denied the injunction, opening up the state's wolves to be slaughtered by hunters despite an aggressive campaign throughout the United States to relist wolves under the Endangered Species Act. Without Federal protections, we will witness wolves plunge once again towards extinction because states like Montana are using flawed population models and have a disdain towards wolf survival.

A world without predatory animals is one where humans now manipulate every facet of the environment. When herbivorous animals become abundant, we'll slaughter them to "protect the environment". When the environment starts to suffer at the hands of plant-eaters, we'll plant trees or kickstart environmental initiatives to restore the habitat. We manipulate the habitats we are enveloped in so much so that animals trying to adapt don't have a fighting chance. If we could simply leave things alone and let nature do what it does best, we wouldn't constantly be in a position of advocating for or against the protection of a species. We are always working against ourselves and unfortunately, it's the animal kingdom that suffers the most as a result of our actions.

The only way to protect wolves is to federally list them under the Endangered Species Act. Leaving their management to individual states is having a devastating effect on their chances of survival in the long term. As long as states like Montana are more concerned with hunters than the survival of wolves, they will continue to be hunted without consideration. We have to relist wolves before it is too late.

Learn more about this story through the link at the top of this post. Also, consider following the #relistwolves campaign as it continues to fight for grey wolves and their survival.