John Mason has become the first Scottish MP to sign up to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection’s (BUAV) campaign to make constituency offices cruelty free.

The Clean Up Cruelty campaign calls for a ban on the testing of Household Products on animals. 81% of the public have said they would support this ban. However, the ingredients of many products continue to be tested.

By signing up to the campaign, John Mason has pledged to use only BUAV approved cleaning products in his Constituency Office. The East End representative was presented with a certificate marking his achievement earlier today (Wednesday) by BUAV’s senior parliamentary adviser, Jenny Gowen.

Speaking after the presentation, John Mason said: “I’m delighted to show my support for this important campaign by only using cruelty free products in may office. It’s a disgrace that cleaning products are still tested on animals and I urge my colleagues to clean up their offices too.”

Michelle Thew, Chief Executive of BUAV, added “It’s fantastic that John Mason is supporting our campaign putting Glasgow East on the cruelty free map. I call on all politicians in Scotland to follow his lead and sign up to this important campaign.”

NOTES:

(1) The Glasgow MP was presented with a certificate by BUAV representative, Jenny Gowen, at 11.00am on the morning of Wednesday 18 February 2009. A photo of the presentation is attached.

(2) The BUAV has been campaigning for over 100 years to achieve a world where nobody wants or believes we need to experiment on animals. We are committed to achieving our aims through reliable and reasoned evidence-based debate. We are proudly non-violent and respect the quality of life for all – animals and people.

(3) The BUAV’s Humane Cosmetics and Household Products Standards Leaping Bunny logo is internationally recognised and patented cruelty-free certification. Approved companies must open up their supply chain to a rigourous indpendent audit. This painstaking process ensures that neither the product nor, crucially, any of its ingredients have been tested on animals at any stage of the manufacturing cycle. For more information on the strict auditing process and a list of approved companies visit www.gocrueltyfree.org