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 … in sunny Devon.

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Botox – Things The Cosmetic Surgeons Won’t Tell You

Naturewatch:

Over the past few years, the use of botox to “erase” wrinkles has steadily grown in popularity. It is estimated over 100,000 treatments are done in the UK, every year.
From TV programs like “10 years younger” to glossy magazines, botox is being promoted as a quick-fix face-lift. Yet this quick-fix carries a very heavy price tag ….

• Every batch of botox used in cosmetic procedures, is tested on 100 mice, using the LD50 test.

• This continues despite the UK and EU ban on the testing of cosmetic products on animals.

• And despite the LD50 test no longer being used for testing cosmetic products.

• FRAME whose report “Growing Old Disgracefully” [2003] first uncovered the use of the LD50 test for botulinum products for cosmetic use, have now also reported a notable increase in the use of the LD50 test. ¹

• Estimates indicate around 50% of the botulinum toxin produced is destined for cosmetic procedures, necessitating further animal testing.

The continued use of animals to test botox destined for cosmetic purposes is in direct contradiction to the UK governments own legislation banning the use of animals to test cosmetic products or ingredients.

What you can do to help:

• First and foremost boycott cosmetically used Botox
• Please join our Boycott Botox group on social networking site Facebook. Simply by clicking to join this group you will be helping to send a clear message that animal testing of Botox for cosmetic purposes isn’t acceptable, and it will also help hugely in spreading the word – most people don’t realise that this testing continues. To “Use Your mouse to say “No!” to Botox on Facebook” - please click here

• If like Naturewatch and FRAME you believe that botox for cosmetic purposes should not be tested on animals, and that UK legislation banning the testing of cosmetic ingredients on animals should be consistently applied, please e-mail us with your views, putting “Boycott Botox” in the subject line, send to csg@naturewatch.org.

• Spread the word, write to your local paper, magazines pointing out the heavy cost in terms of animal suffering that botox incurs.

Further key facts:

• Botulinum Type A toxin, from which Botox is derived, is a biological product, produced in batches by fermenting the same bacteria responsible for botulinum poisoning.

• Though no longer used to test cosmetics, the LD50 test is still used for batch testing of biological products.

• In order to test the potency of each new batch of toxin, the toxin is injected into the abdomens of mice, to determine the amount of toxin that kills half of a given test group of mice (the LD50 test), this can take up to 3-4 days.

Happy Ending For Dog Left To Starve In Shed

Halifax Courier:

…Three-year-old Tony was found barely alive after being locked up without food or water for five weeks in Geoffrey Abel’s Mixenden shed. He had lost 70 per cent of his body weight…

Horror As Cat Suffers Acid Attack

This Is Leicestershire:

An eight-week-old kitten was dumped in the street and left to die in agony after being covered in toxic chemicals.

The tomcat’s appalling injuries included four broken feet, a broken tail and horrendous burns caused by the chemical substance poured over his body…

Shame Of London’s Animal Cruelty

According to the London Daily News - with nearly 100 people convicted last year – the capital is the 4th worst area in the UK for animal cruelty.

Dog abuse is up a third in London. Horrifyingly, a new trend is emerging where owners cut off their dogs’ ears to make them look more menacing.

Read more here 

Chef Gordon Ramsay Under Fire For ‘Puffin Murder’

Telegraph:

Ramsay travelled to Iceland to “sky-fish” for the seabirds.

He caught one puffin in a net – viewers saw it bite his face as it struggled to get free. A hunter then snapped the bird’s neck before Ramsay pulled out its heart, which he ate raw. The Michelin-starred chef later rustled up a dish of barbecued puffin with cucumber salad…

Pets Need Sunscreen Too Says Blue Cross

Glee:

Animal welfare charity The Blue Cross has issued a warning to pet owners to use suncream to protect animals from skin cancer as temperatures rise. It is hoped the warning will increase awareness of the dangers and could help to boost sales of specialist products in pet stores…

Naturewatch Campaign For Animal Alternatives

Naturewatch are campaigning against hugely profitable  companies that do not promote alternatives to animal testing. They are asking the public to send letters to the following multi-nationals urging them to participate in the ‘European Partnership For Animal Alternatives’.

Wyeth Europa Limited

Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals

Eli Lilly and Company Limited

Boehringer Ingelheim Limited

Schering-Plough Limited

Naturewatch have made the task easy for us by providing 5 pdf’s to be printed out, signed and posted.

Link to pdf’s here

PETA Asks Military To Stop Testing On Animals

Associated Press:

Animal-rights activists want the U.S. to stop using animals as subjects to help train its military, calling the medical and trauma exercises cruel and a disservice to the troops.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter Monday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking him to replace the use of animals with non-animal methods such as human simulators…

Cavers Recover Ancient Bear Bones

 BBC News:

An almost complete skeleton of a bear that may have died 11,000 years ago has been recovered from a cave in the Scottish Highlands…