In March this year, Australia passed legislation that prevents the testing of some types of cosmetics ingredients on animals, starting in July 2020. Senator Bridget McKenzie, now the Minister for Agriculture, promised at the time to support the development and uptake of new methods to replace animal use in safety testing required by the government. She also acknowledged the general international trend away from reliance on animal testing to determine the safety and effectiveness of chemicals and medicines. A baboon sits and looks out from behind security fencing at the National Health and Medical Research Council facility in Wallacia in Sydney’s west in a file picture.Credit:Dallas Kilponen Each year more than 115 million animals are used worldwide for research, testing, training and education. Nine million animals were used in Australia in 2016 alone. For a long time, the public has considered animal experimentation a "necessary evil". But more and […]