Rabbits are widely used Because they're very, very easy to exploit.
Rabbits are typically docile and easy to restrain, they're small, they're inexpensive to breed and keep (rabbits kept for scientific testing and experimentation are not fed the kind of healthy diet that is recommended for pet rabbits, which is costlier, because nobody gives a crap whether they live a long time; they're basically born to suffer and die), and they're prolific breeders, so a steady supply is always available.
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So, rabbits are not used in lab testing for things like cosmetics for any scientific reason. Their anatomy is very different than ours, so the effects of smearing mascara in a rabbit's eye will absolutely hurt and possibly blind the rabbit, but it's not a reliable indicator of how a human eye would react to the same substance.
Guinea pigs, rats, and mice are all more similar biologically to humans than rabbits are, which is why those three species are, along with rabbits, the most commonly used in testing. But when it comes to rabbits, it's all about ease and practicality, not science.
This is how rabbits — these are New Zealand whites, the breed most commonly used for testing, as well as for food and fur — are restrained when used for cosmetics testing.
And this is the kind of suffering lab rabbits go through in cosmetics testing.
If you wear makeup, please, please choose a cruelty-free brand. Animals shouldn't have to suffer like this for our human vanity.
