1Malaysia Against Animal Testing Petitions

Dear friends of animals and compassionate souls,

If you haven't already, please sign the petitions against the establishment of an animal testing facility in Malaysia. Support the use of humane, cruelty-free alternatives to animal testing. There are several! Animal testing is NOT necessary. Say no to cruelty!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/saynotoanimaltesting

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/StopPlansForAnimalTestingMalaysia

SPCA Selangor Action Alert

As usual, i'm having a little trouble getting the newsletter to show up perfecly in my blog.. If you can't see this e-newsletter properly, please click here

Animal groups unite on World Day for Animals in Laboratories to stop the construction of an animal testing laboratory in Malaysia

24 APRIL 2010, KUALA LUMPUR - To mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories today, a coalition of animal protection groups has launched an international effort to stop the construction of an animal laboratory at the Masjid Tanah Industrial Park in Malacca, Malaysia. The proposal, which has only recently come to light, is a result of collaboration between the Indian contract testing company, Vivo Bio Tech, and the State government-owned Melaka Biotech.

The coalition, which includes the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Selangor, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE), which represents animal protection organisations from 17 countries, has written to the Government urging it not to allow this facility to go ahead on humanitarian grounds. Also to be considered is the impact that allowing such a facility will have upon Malaysia’s international image in the world. A meeting to discuss the coalition’s objections in full has been requested.

Disturbingly, Malaysia currently has no legislation governing the use of animals in research. According to the company’s website (www.vivobio.com), Vivo Biotech carries out extensive animal research, including toxicity testing on a variety of species for a number of purposes, including the controversial use for cosmetic products. It has also been reported that primates could be sourced locally in Malaysia. The government of Malaysia made an important stand by re-instating the ban on the export of primates for research in 2008. Should the animal laboratory be allowed to be set up in Malacca, immense suffering, misery and death will be inflicted on thousands of animals, and potentially facilitate the trade in wild-caught macaques within Malaysia.

The coalition opposes the construction of this facility for both ethical reasons and the lack of scientific validity of using animals in testing. It argues that there is a large range of non-animal techniques that, as well as being a more humane approach to science, can also be cheaper, quicker and more effective. These include cell, tissue and organ culture; micro-organisms such as bacteria; molecular research; studies with post-mortem tissues; computer simulations, population studies (epidemiology) and ethical clinical research with human volunteers.

Coalition spokesperson, Christine Chin, SPCA Selangor stated: “We are calling on animal groups and others around the world to join us in urging the Government of Malaysia to dissociate itself from a proposal that will not only involve the suffering and death of thousands of animals every year, but also will undoubtedly have a negative and detrimental impact on Malaysia’s image overseas.”

Action Alert Please support the international campaign to stop the development of an animal testing laboratory in Malaysia Join with us in opposing the development of an animal testing facility in Malacca, Malaysia. The BUAV (http://www.buav.org/) , the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Selangor (www.spca.org.my) and the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments (ECEAE) (http://www.eceae.org/) have joined forces to campaign on this issue and we need your help! The coalition opposes the construction of this facility for both ethical reasons and the lack of scientific validity of using animals in testing. It argues that there is a large range of non-animal techniques that, as well as being a more humane approach to science can also be cheaper, quicker and more effective. There is still time to take action. We understand that as yet, no notice or applications of permits have been made to the Peninsular Malaysia Department of Wildlife and National Parks, or the Department of Veterinary Services. Further information and a link to a recent article in the Malay Mail, a leading Malaysian newspaper, can be viewed here: http://www.buav.org/a/2010/04/02/309 Please support the campaign and urge the Prime Minister of Malaysia and the Chief Minister of Malacca to put an end to the negotiations between the Indian biotechnology company and the State government-owned Melaka Biotech. Request that they do not embark on the controversial business of animal research and remind them of the negative impact that the proposed laboratories will have on Malaysia’s international image. Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Razak Prime Minister Office of the Prime Minister Main Block, Perdana Putra Building Federal Government Administrative Centre 62502 Putrajaya Malaysia Email: ppm@pmo.gov.my (cc. the Prime Ministers Secretary at aziz@pmo.gov.my) Chief Minister of Malacca Datuk Seri Hj. Mohd Ali bin Mohd Rustam Office of the Chief Minister The Seri Negari The State Administrative and Development Centre Malacca, Malaysia Email: alirustam@melaka.gov.my Licensing Authorities You can also request that the government authorities in Malaysia not issue any permits for the facility. Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Datuk Seri Noh bin Omar Wisma Tani, No 28, Persiaran Perdana, Precint 4 Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan 62624 Putrajaya Wilayah Persekutuan Malaysia Email: nohomar@moa.gov.my Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embas Level 1 - 4, Podium 2 & 3, Wisma Sumber Asli No.25, Persiaran Perdana, Precint 4 Federal Government Administrative Centre 62574 Putrajaya Malaysia Email: uggah@nre.gov.my Department of Veterinary Services Dato’ Dr. Abd. Aziz b. Jamaluddin The Director-General of Veterinary Services Wisma Tani, Block Podium Lot 4G1 Presint 4, Federal Government Administrative Centre 62630 Putrajaya Malaysia Email: azizj@dvs.gov.my Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) Dato' Abd. Rashid bin Samsudin Director-General Headquarters of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Km 10, Jalan Cheras 56100 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Email: rashid@wildlife.gov.my (cc. to Personal Assistant at pakp@wildlife.gov.my) Embassies You can also write to the Embassy of Malaysia in your own country. For the contact details of Malaysian Embassies around the world go to: http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-of/Malaysia SPCA Animal Shelter || Inspectorate || Humane Education || Klinik Kembiri Government Lobbying || MissionHELP SPCA Selangor | Jln Kerja Ayer Lama, 68000 Ampang Jaya, Selangor | T: 42565312/ 42535179 F: 42528382 | enquiries@spca.org.my Visit us at http://www.spca.org.my/ SPCA Selangor 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Exporting Cruelty to Malaysia

For some reason, I always assumed that India was a country compassionate towards animals. I suppose this assumption was made based on documentaries I had seen about the temples/sanctuaries for monkeys, rats etc.. where these animals lived in peace, were looked after, and fed by people who thought they were holy sacred beings. I was particularly impressed by the footage I saw of people preparing food for hundreds, possibly thousands of rats in a temple. I thought, wow now THAT's compassion for you. Everywhere else in the world rats are reviled and even a lot of supposedly kind and animal-loving people wouldn't hesitate to kill/poison/trap a rat. Usually it seems kindness is limited only to those who are cute and considered 'clean' so I was touched by the care shown to the rats.

India has a large vegetarian population due to certain widespread religious beliefs about compassion and not taking the lives of living things. I'm a huge consumer of skin and body care products manufactured by an Indian company called Himalaya. Their products are not animal tested and contain no animal derived ingredients. For some reason (i'm sooooo naive and dumb sometimes) this led me to believe that other Indian products would probably be cruelty-free as well. I really thought that vegetarians + compassionate society = cruelty-free capitalism. I must be out of my frickin mind. Gandhi said "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated". I hoped his countrymen thought so too.

Well, I suppose that's why I was so surprised when I found out that the animal-testing facility being set up in Malaysia is being done so in partnership with Indian biotech company Vivo Biotech Limited and Malaysian company Malacca Biotech. I wasn't surprised by the Malaysian part, after all its well-known that Malaysia is not a compassionate society and animals have no rights here. I was surprised by the Indian part because I didn't know (again very naive of me) that there was actually an industry for animal-testing research over there. It never occurred to me that societal beliefs have nothing to do with economics and there are always going to be some fuckers in every country that will exploit anyone and anything for a buck. I had even assumed that there were laws protecting animals from the cruelties and agony of vivisection. My ignorance and idealism amaze me. ugh. Its as if I thought everyone would be like Gandhi. Yes, laugh. Go ahead laugh at me.

Anyhoozers I did some reading and it turns out that yes of course India uses animals for their drugs and cosmetics industries. Duh. In fact more and more Indian companies are churning out pharmaceuticals and cosmetics all the time. Hundreds of billions of rupees worth get exported around the world every year. Animal testing is a HUGE industry in India pushed on by humanity's constant desire for new and innovative products, but it was barely regulated. There were no rules or laws dictating what could or could not be done to the animals. The researchers and scientists could do whatever they wanted.. until 1998. That's when the first animal testing regulations first went into effect. Now, pharmaceutical companies in India must deal with a lot of angry animal rights groups. Animal testing has become a huge religious and political issue over there. They can no longer test on canines or primates and other small animal testing is extremely limited and strictly regulated. Did i mention that the facility they are setting up in Malaysia will include canine and primate testing facilities? ooohhhhhh what a co-inky-dink!!

That's why India's Vivo Biotech Limited is EXPORTING their cruelty to Malaysia. Smart move on their part. Bastards. They are setting up their crap here because animal protection laws are seriously lacking over here. They can go back to being cruel, barbaric, archaic, and they can use all kinds of disgusting methods and procedures outlawed elsewhere in the world. They don't have to worry about legal issues... there aren't as many activists over here. Its a vivisection lover's dream come true. They can avoid their own animal welfare laws. How convenient.

What does Malaysia get out of this? A piece of the bloody RM170 billion (US 50 billion) pie of course. Yay for Malacca state. I think we should all boycott the Malaysian state of Malacca and any products produced by Vivo Biotech and Malacca Biotech. Remember, always do your research so you can find cruelty-free cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. There are lots. When the petitions and protests begin, take part! Don't let cruelty be shoved down your throat. Don't consume it, don't encourage it.

Here are some great animal-testing reads:
http://www.petaindia.com/campaigns/vivisection.asp

http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2006/11/25/outsourcing_animal_testing/

http://www.calcuttanews.net/story/226032

http://www.stopanimaltests.com/

And for those who don't care where the crap they buy comes from. Don't care about the suffering that comes with the purchase.. Well just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And if you do buy cruelty, you're GUILTY of the cruelty as well. You might as well have held the poor critters down and sliced them open yourself, after all you are paying the salaries of the people who put them there.

So here, take a look you bastards.. http://www.animalsvoice.com/gallery/cosmetic.html

Malaysia's spanking new animal cruelty project.

Ugh.. Coming soon to Malaysia... An animal testing facility. Don't really know what to say about this that I haven't already said before.. I think everyone knows how i feel about this. i'm just very disappointed, upset, defeated. i feel like we are going nowhere. society here will never be more compassionate and more aware. we are fighting a losing battle. If you haven't already, click here to read my 2003 college paper about animal testing.. its an old article but the information is still relevant.


And below, the article in The Malay Mail that announced this upcoming atrocity.

Animal-testing centre to be set up in Malaysia

MoU signed to set up full-fledged animal experiment centre in Malacca

Darshini Kandasamy

Friday, April 2nd, 2010 11:02:00

FULLY INTEGRATED: The new multi-million biotechnology centre in Malacca will feature several animal testing laboratories — Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: A RM450 million deal has been signed between a large Indian biotechnology company and State government-owned Melaka Biotech Holdings Sdn Bhd this year. The State will soon see three animal-experimentation laboratories set up in Rembia in Alor Gajah.

The primate, small animals and canine-testing laboratories will be part of a one-stop fully-integrated biotechnology centre for the development, testing and manufacturing of medicines.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Malacca Biotech, Indian Biotechnology firm Vivo BioTech Limited and Vanguard Creative Technologies Sdn Bhd on Jan 21 in India. A joint-venture company, Vivo Bio Tech (M) Sdn Bhd was set up to facilitate this multi billion ringgit project, in which India's Vivo BioTech would hold majority equity, followed by Vanguard Creative and Melaka Biotech.

The MoU was inked in New Delhi by representatives of Vivo BioTech and Vanguard as well as by Malacca Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, witnessed by Najib.

But as yet, no notice or application of permit has been made with the Peninsular Malaysia Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).

Mohd Ali told The Malay Mail that the company was in the process of submitting building plans for the facilities to the Alor Gajah Municipal Council.

On the unease of animal welfare groups over the use of animals for experiments, the chief minister gave the assurance the State government would monitor the situation once the centre is set up and operational.

Meanwhile, Vivo Bio Tech (Malaysia) director Datuk Kuna Sittampalam stated that the proposed fully integrated biotechnology centre was still in its "early days" as the company has yet to submit building plans to the local council.

"There will be three phases in the construction. Phase one will be the animal-testing facilities while the second and third phases will encompass the biotech facilities," said Sittampalam.

He said the company will be importing Beagles from Holland for tests requiring canines, and most probably white mice for the small animal laboratory. He wasn’t sure where they will get the primates from, "Most will be obtained locally, but if we are not allowed, then we will look overseas.

"This is a US$50 billion (RM170 billion) industry and Malaysia wants to be a part of this," said Sittampalam.

Not all tests can be replicated using human tissue culture in place of animals, he said, and explained that animal-testing is a small segment of the whole biotechnology process and people must look at the "bigger picture".

Unfortunately, he added, a biotechnology centre must have testing in order to be deemed fully-integrated. There must be the full sequence of drug development, testing and manufacturing, "so the picture is complete".

Growing protest of welfare groups

KUALA LUMPUR: News that a new biotechnology facility equipped with canine, primate and small animal testing laboratories would soon be set up in Malacca has received opposition from local and international animal welfare NGOs who urge the government to step away from animal experimentation and testing.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) chairman, Christine Chin said SPCA opposes the construction of any animaltesting laboratory.

"There are so many duplication of tests in many areas, in which scientists use human tissue or stem cell tissue instead of using animals," she said, adding that animal-testing does not even provide complete and accurate data or results.

She feels Malaysia should concentrate on refining testing using human tissue from stem cell initiatives instead of embarking on controversial businesses that use animals for tests.

"I understand that certain pharmaceutical testing requires animals and we must accept a certain amount of animal-testing unfortunately. But we must begin to move towards alternative techniques," she said.

"Malaysia should not open the economy to businesses like this as it promotes cruelty."

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Sam) was also disappointed with the news of the laboratories, stating that no animal-testing in any form should be allowed in this country.

Its president S.M. Mohamed Idris also urged the use of human tissue cultures in place of "animals specially bred and killed for this purpose".

"They need to assess the justification for using animals in experiments and carry out a meaningful evaluation on the harm these animals will endure," said Idris.

He also questioned whether the biotechnology company gave any thought to the welfare of the animals it was bringing in, such as how they will be housed and destroyed after the experiments were carried out.

"Is there an ethics committee set up to look into this and ensure the animals do not suffer before and during the experiments?" he asked.

UK-based British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (Buav) has also expressed concern over the news of the planned laboratories.

Its special projects director Sarah Kite told The Malay Mail: "The outsourcing of animal-testing to countries where restrictions may be more lax is a worrying development. This appears to be the case in Malaysia as we understand there is no legislation governing the use of animals in research or testing. Even with legislation, however, the suffering that will be inflicted on the animals used is immoral and unacceptable."

She said Buav was also concerned as to the source of the primates to be used in tests at this facility, questioning whether the facility will be allowed to use Malaysia's own indigenous population of long-tailed macaques.

"We urge the people of Malaysia to not allow itself to be part of an industry that inflicts such great pain and suffering on animals," said Kite.

Perhilitan and DVS in the dark

KUALA LUMPUR: Neither the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) nor the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) have officially heard about the planned biotechnology centre in Rembia, Malacca.

Perhilitan deputy directorgeneral Misliah Mohamad Basir said this was the first time she had heard of such a deal and that she can, to date, "confirm" that no one has approached Perhilitan to obtain a license for bringing in primates to the laboratory.

"They must refer to us (Perhilitan) for licensing as primates are a protected species. This is a big issue. We will have to refer the matter to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment," she said.

Misliah also said that since there are no guidelines or policy on animal testing, Perhilitan will draft new guidelines for the of testing on animals under Perhilitan's jurisdiction if the Ministry were to approve such applications.

DVS deputy director-general (veterinary health) Datuk Dr Ahmad Suhaimi Omar also stated he was not aware of the biotechnology centre in Rembia.

Currently, only a permit from DVS is needed if it involves the import of animals.

“For us, it is only the import of animals that will be of concern to us, but who has the authority to say yes or no to testing?" he asked, adding that the law (Animal Act 1953) contains legislation only on cruelty towards animals.

Tests a benefit to mankind

KUALA LUMPUR: On the other side of the spectrum, Laboratory Animal Science Association of Malaysia (Lasam) said animal-testing or experiment facilities in Malaysia had been around for a long time.

Lasam president Dr Abdul Rahim Mutalib said: "Animal-testing or experiments are part and parcel of research and development in medical, veterinary and biomedical sciences. Animals are used as living models in studies to answer pertinent questions regarding a problem or problems that affect man (or other animals species).

"We cannot use human subjects anyway. The results will eventually benefit humans in the end.

"The animal is a complete living system in which many types of responses can be elicited either simultaneously or in a series over a period of time. No in-vitro system, be it computer simulation, cell or organ culture system, can replace the animal."

He said once a researcher has developed a product meant for humans, he or she must also prove that it will not have any deleterious effect on humans.

As soon as a product is created, he said, the progression of testing would be first in an in-vitro system such as tissue, cell or organ culture, followed by in an in-vivo system such as in small mammals including rats, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and even fish.

Lastly, testing would be conducted on higher mammals such as dogs, and monkeys which are models for humans.

"The best type of animals that they should use are those that are purpose-bred. You must not use pet dogs or pound dogs or those caught from the wild, as in the case of monkeys, as these animals' health status are not defined," said Dr Abdul Rahim.

"If you use these types of animals, it is likely that your results will not be valid because there are so many variables. Just like when we do experiments in the laboratory, we must use the highest-quality chemicals and the cleanest of glassware so that our results will be true results."

Dr Abdul Rahim, however, stressed that experiments conducted on the animals must take into account their welfare before, during and after the procedures, and if there is pain, it must be minimised.

"The research must be ethical and the benefit must outweigh the pain or suffering the animals undergo," he said.

Thus, he suggested that a local committee called the Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) or the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) must be set up to screen or evaluate any research proposal that needs to use animals.

Animal Suffering for Human Benefit. A paper i wrote for class in 2003.

Thirty-three. The number of animals that die each second in laboratories worldwide. For these poor critters, death is sweet relief, a blissful and welcomed ending to a life filled with anguish, fear, and pain. After all, what is death when one has already endured all the unspeakable horrors of living as a laboratory test subject?

Animals have little rights, nor do they have the ability to defend themselves from the inhumane, cruel, and downright repugnant laboratory tests which they are forced to endure. Considered by humans as a ‘lesser’ species, scientific experiments are conducted on animals to provide insight into health and diseases and to test the effects of products such as cosmetics, cleaning solvents, drugs, and even firearms.

The question is who decided that animal lives are expendable, and what gives humans the right to inflict pain on God’s creatures? Melissa, a volunteer at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) says that violators of animal rights are just plain arrogant and ignorant. “Many people think that just because animals can’t talk, they can’t feel pain, anxiety, sadness… They are sentient beings just like you and me. Did you know that a pig has a brain capacity of a four year old human child? Can you imagine eating your four year old brother? We do not have the right to abuse them or use them for any or our own selfish purposes.”

Unfortunately, the abuse continues and shows almost no sign of stopping although numerous non-animal based techniques have been developed. Animal testing is officially called ‘vivisection’ and this word literally means ‘cutting alive’. The word vivisection finds its roots in the early days of medicine when scientific experiments included the dissection of living, breathing animals without painkillers or anesthetics of any kind in order to ensure the accuracy of the tests. Not much has changed since then.

Today, animals used in product testing have nail polish, toilet bowl cleaner and all kinds of other chemicals shoved down their throats, rubbed in their eyes, and onto their bare, shaved skin. They are shot, gassed, blown up, turned into drug addicts, burned, infected with HIV, cancer, and other diseases, and mutilated, all in the name of science.

The two most infamous tests are the Lethal Dose (LD) -50 test, wherein a large group of animals are given more and more of a product until fifty percent of them are dead and the Draize Eye and Skin Irritancy test where products are poured directly into animals’ eyes and onto their abraded skin to determine toxicity levels.

In an article entitled ‘Spare a Thought Tomorrow on our Cruelty to Animals’, S.M. Mohd. Idris, president of Sahabat Alam Malaysia wrote: “Animals have little rights. It is the cowardice and tyranny of which they are victims which make their suffering so especially touching. There is something so very dreadful, so satanic in tormenting those who have never harmed us, and who cannot defend themselves, who are utterly in our power.”

There are a countless number of reasons why animal testing is so unethical. Aside from the obvious, animals and humans are so different that animal test results are often irrelevant. So can the use of animals in scientific experiments ever be justified? “No,” says Melissa of the SPCA, “and it never will be. In most cases the reaction from animals and humans are totally different.”

At least fifty drugs on the market cause cancer in laboratory animals. This is allowed because it is admitted that animal tests are not relevant. When asked if they agreed that animal experimentation can be misleading because of anatomical and physiological differences between humans and animals, eighty-eight percent of doctors agreed.

Many drugs that pass animal tests but are actually harmful to humans are on the market. Studies show that eighty-eight percent of stillbirths and sixty-one percent of birth defects are caused by drugs passed as being safe in animal tests. Many life-saving drugs would have been banned if animal tests were heeded. Some drugs that fail animal tests but save human lives are aspirin, digitalis (a heart drug), cancer treatments, insulin, and penicillin. Who knows how many other revolutionary, life-saving drugs have been shelved because of misleading animal tests?

During George Bush’s recent visit to Thailand, ten mice were selected to test samples of food which the American president would eat. The mice will be given samples of the food and then observed to see if they die or suffer any adverse effects. Ten little mice held the life of the world’s most powerful man in their furry, little, paws.

What’s rather ironic is that the officials who arranged those animal tests failed to realize that animal tests are often unreliable and inaccurate due to psychological, physiological, metabolic, and anatomic differences between humans and non-human animals. According to animal tests, lemon juice is a deadly poison, but arsenic, hemlock and botulin are perfectly safe. If an attempt on Bush’s life involved arsenic poisoning, Thai officials would be hard-pressed to explain why their mice failed to save the President’s life.

More than 450 non-animal based techniques have already been developed to replace animal testing. Among them are in-vitro (test tube) research, autopsies and cadaver research, genetic research, and most commonly, human tissue, cell, and organ cultures in containers with the drug to be tested in order to observe how it will act within the human body.

Studies show that alternatives to animal testing are not inferior methods. In fact, they are more cost-efficient and reliable than animal tests. So why do scientists continue to conduct animal research if it is misleading and unreliable?

One word. Money. They say money makes the world go round. In this case, money brings nothing but more and more mindless suffering. The disturbing truth of the matter is that the animal research infrastructure currently in place is very powerful and it is difficult to change research practices so entrenched in animal research for so long.

Several industries such as pharmaceutical companies, research universities, hospitals, animal breeders, and equipment manufacturers profit from animal testing. Animal testing is a multi billion dollar industry. Advocates of it are not going to give up a billion dollar money-making machine to save animal lives. Greed clouds judgment and animals continue to die.

In Malaysia the general population remains unaware and unconcerned about animal rights. “The level of awareness is very low. The animal rights movement here in Malaysia is virtually non-existent. Yes, there are concerned animal lovers that are mainly interested in only companion animals which are dogs and cats and even then, Malaysians do not know how to treat their companion animals judging by the cruelty cases that we get. We are not into living a compassionate life. We still support companies that test on animals and buy illegal animal products such as ivory,” says Melissa.

Unfortunately, the apathy towards animal rights comes from much deeper than the general population. Education on the proper treatment of animals is very limited. The ‘ignorance is bliss’ mentality is evident even in so-called animal rights organizations in Malaysia. When asked if anything was being done about animal testing in Malaysia, a representative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Malaysia declared, “We don’t really deal with animal testing”.

Further investigation revealed that the Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation (MNAWF) deals only with teaching people how to take care of their dogs and cats. It’s a start but it’s going to take much more than that to save animal lives in Malaysia and in the world.

It doesn’t take much for people do their part. First, buy cruelty-free products and boycott companies that still conduct tests on animals. In order to be more involved, contact organizations that fight for animal rights. According to Melissa a lot can be done to encourage Malaysians to care about animal rights. “Education and awareness. We as Malaysians should learn to be less selfish and self-centered and start caring.”

In Malaysia the following cruelty-free brands are easy to find:

Aramis, Aveda, Avon, Bobbi Brown, The Body Shop, Chanel, Clarins, Clinique,
Crabtree & Evelyn, Dermalogica, Donna Karan Beauty Company (DKNY), Estee
Lauder, Eucerin, Paul Mitchell, La Mer, La Prairie, M.A.C.
Cosmetics, Murad, The Natural Source, Neutrogena, Nivea, Nu Skin, O.P.I.,
Origins, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Revlon, Staedtler, Stila Cosmetics, Ted
Baker Fragrance, Tommy Hilfiger, Urban Decay, The Wella
Corporation (Sebastian), Alberto Culver VO5, St. Ives, Simple, Stuf., Himalaya, Fruit of the Earth, Joico, Benefit, Freeman, and many many others..

There are lots more animal friendly brands, easy to find with just a little bit of effort and research.