"Save Ralph" campaign against cosmetic tests in animals turns viral

The short film featured the participation of several famous Hollywood artists.Photo: Taken from Youtube

The fictional story of Ralph, a rabbit that is used by companies to test the efficacy of products for human use, has gone viral in recent days through social networks. With the animated short film, the International Animal Protection Agency, the organization that led the project hopes to show the reality of cosmetic testing on animals, a practice that, although it is prohibited in 40 countries, is still legal in most of the world.

The almost four-minute video included the participation of different public figures such as Taika Waititi, Ricky Gervais, Zac Efron, Olivia Munn, Pom Klementieff, Tricia Helfer and others who joined the campaign of the Protector of Animals. Although Save Ralph was originally made in English, its versions in Portuguese, Spanish, French and Vietnamese are expected soon to have a greater reception worldwide.

For Jeffrey Flocken, president of Animal Protection, the short film became an opportunity for the entire world to unite against cosmetic testing on animals. “Save Ralph is a wake-up call that animals are still suffering from cosmetics, and now is the time to come together to ban them globally. Today we have a host of trusted, animal-free approaches to ensuring product safety, so there is no excuse for making animals like Ralph suffer by testing cosmetics or their ingredients,” he said in an official statement.

Save Ralph campaign against testing cosmetic testing on animals goes viral

In the video, Ralph, the lead rabbit, is interviewed while going about his daily routine as a “screener” in a toxicology lab. For the organization that defends animals, this campaign addresses the disturbing problem of animal testing in an original and unexpected way that has been viewed more than 400,000 times on YouTube to date.

The campaign focuses on 16 countries, including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, South Africa, and 10 Southeast Asian nations with more partner organizations. Save Ralph will put the spotlight on all these countries, leading them towards a future free of animal cruelty.

More than 2,000 cruelty-free beauty brands are available worldwide, including Lush, Garnier, Dove, Herbal Essences and H&M. These companies produce safe products by using ingredients with a history of safe use along with non-animal safety assessment tools.

Here you can find some of the brands that still do cosmetic animal testing.