PETA scored a big win this week when Congress finally voted to end the 42-day government shutdown.
Deep down in the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026, was a provision pushed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to end sunscreen testing on animals, which can cause scarring and vision issues in bunnies and other test targets.
On page 149 of the 161-page bill was a congressional demand that the Food and Drug Administration accept non-animal cancer testing methods for sunscreen active ingredients.
Within a year, the legislation said that the FDA must issue guidance on how nonclinical testing alternatives to animal testing should be used “to meet safety and efficacy standards.”
PETA scientist Jeffrey Brown told Washington Secrets, “Congress has made it clear that it expects the FDA to find ways to accelerate the use of non-animal tests to give consumers confidence that the sunscreens they use are safe. This highlights an opportunity for FDA to engage with the many companies that are interested in using more innovative and human-relevant non-animal testing methods. PETA thanks these lawmakers for their leadership on sunscreen testing and commitment to good science, human health, and animal protection.”
While there are several sunscreens on the market that do not use animal testing, there remain several others that do.
PETA has led the fight by animal rights activists to shift to testing that doesn’t require animals.
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“We have sent multiple letters to the agency, urging it to act swiftly by collaborating with sunscreen manufacturers and other scientific experts who have spent decades developing reliable cell- and computer-based test methods to assess sunscreen safety. The FDA must fulfill its responsibility to use the best, most human-relevant science to protect the public, rather than insisting that companies conduct decades-old animal tests that have been shown not to protect human health,” said Brown.
In his statement, he called out a handful of lawmakers who helped include the language in the spending bill. They were Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Reps. John Joyce (R-PA), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), David Joyce (R-OH), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Craig Goldman (R-TX), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), and John James (R-MI).