On January 23, 2014, Geraldo Alckmin, governor in the state of São Paulo in Brazil, signed a bill prohibiting cosmetics testing on animals there.
Helder Constantino, the Humane Society International's Be Cruelty-Free Brazil campaigns manager, said of the announcement, “The ban on cosmetics animal testing in the state of São Paulo is great news and sends a strong signal to the [Brazilian] federal government to ban cosmetics cruelty nationwide. Our Be Cruelty-Free Brazil campaign for a complete ban has received huge public support, and we applaud the groups in São Paulo who have fought hard for this victory for animals.... Let this be the first step towards the whole of Brazil being cruelty-free."
The state of São Paulo hosts more than 700 of the 2,300 cosmetics companies in Brazil, and São Paulo is the first state to issue a ban on cosmetics animal testing. The ban covers both finished products and ingredients.
The European Union, India and Israel have already banned animal testing for cosmetics. Other countries are debating prohibitions such as South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. China is revising its regulation to phase out mandatory tests on animals for certain cosmetics.