New Poll Finds 79 Percent of American Voters Are Against Animal Testing 

Seventy-nine percent of voters in the United States would support a federal ban on cosmetic animal testing, according to a new poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of animal advocacy group Cruelty Free International (CFI). The survey showed that 78 percent of older Americans (50 to 64 years of age) and 78 percent of women would support such a ban. “These poll results bear out our observations from our work with governments, cosmetic companies, and consumers around the world that the desire to end animal testing for cosmetics is a value shared across countries and generations,” CFI CEO Michelle Thew said. “It is one issue that you can reasonably expect Millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers to not only agree on but to be equally passionate about. We are working to end this cruel and outdated testing globally—as a huge cosmetics market, action in the US would make an enormous difference.” When broken down into political affiliations, 83 percent of Democrats, 72 percent of Republicans, and 80 percent of Independents indicated that they would “strongly support” or “support” a federal ban on cosmetic testing. Additionally, 71 percent of respondents who identified as conservative indicated they would support the ban—with 50 percent of those respondents choosing the “strongly support” option. “In a difficult political climate, this is an issue that could be a shining example of unity,” Monica Engebretson, CFI North America Campaign Manager, said. “A federal end to cosmetics animal testing in the USA wins strong support from voters of all political and ideological affiliations.” Starting January 2020, cosmetic animal testing will be prohibited in California, Nevada, and Illinois, and CFI hopes that a nationwide ban—which, according to its poll results will be supported by most voters across party lines—will follow.