Procter & Gamble Halting Most of Its Animal Testing

After years of debate and negotiation, Procter & Gamble Co. on Wednesday said it was ending the use of animal tests for about 80% of its products.

Amy Neltner, a spokeswoman for the consumer products giant, said the decision does not cover the company’s food and pharmaceutical products, but P&G; is moving toward eliminating all animal testing and will do so “as soon as science allows.”

The change covers Cincinnati-based P&G;’s beauty, fabric, home care and paper products, except where product testing in animals is required by law.

Animal rights activists have long campaigned for an end to such tests, circulating photographs of caged laboratory animals with festering sores and weeping eyes to support their cause.

Financial analysts who follow the company said they did not think this decision would have any material impact on the company’s bottom line. Neltner said P&G; would redeploy the money and resources it would otherwise have spent on animal testing to develop alternative testing methods.

In a market made volatile by the Federal Reserve’s ruling on interest rates, the stock of P&G;, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, rose $3.13 to close at $89.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.

In making the announcement, Larry Games, P&G;’s vice president of global product safety, said: “Science and technology have advanced to the point where we can confirm the safety of these finished products through non-animal alternatives.”

P&G;’s decision applies to about 80% of the company’s product portfolio, including color cosmetics; shampoos and hairstyling products; skin care products; tissue and towel products; laundry and dishwashing detergents; and household cleaners. The decision is effective immediately in all countries where the company operates.

P&G;, which sells about 300 consumer brands ranging from Tide detergent to Pampers diapers to Pringles potato chips, has invested nearly $100 million in the last 15 years in the study and development of alternative research methods.

Shares of P&G; rose $3.13 to close at $89.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.