Is Wet n Wild no longer cruelty free? Wet N Wild and China

Fellow cruelty free blogger, Cruelty Free Kitty, recently broke the awful news that Wet n Wild is selling in Watsons drugstores in China. Watsons is an industry giant with more than 9,000 locations in and around Asia.
I was shocked by this, but I wanted to wait until I researched the facts before posting. I  determined to get the facts before reporting on something this serious and convoluted.
Why does selling in China matter?
Chinese law states that foreign cosmetics need to be tested in government approved labs. While it may not be the foreign company’s own policy to test its products on animals, in order to sell in China, the company must pay for animal testing to be conducted on their products in Chinese government-approved facilities. There are ways to skip the premarket animal testing but there is NOT a way to skip the post market animal testing in China.
No brand is exempt from POST market animal testing in China. Chinese officials can  pull items off shelves for animal testing and don’t need a brand’s permission to do it. They don’t have to inform the brand of these actions either.
For years Wet n Wild has told us they did not sell in China. Turns out that was a lie.  Wet n Wild has now said they have been selling in China since 2018 via their Instagram.
Even though Wet n Wild has the cruelty free Leaping bunny symbol printed on their products they are no longer listed with Leaping Bunny. Wet n Wild did not recommit with Leaping Bunny certification. Markwins the parent company of Wet n Wild has been removed from the Leaping Bunny’s website as well.
What is Recommitment?
The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) Leaping Bunny Program requires companies to recommit annually to ensure that their products remain 100% free of new animal testing.
Does Recommitment cost money? No. It is completely free.
AGAIN No brand is exempt from POST market animal testing in China. The only way to completely remove the risk of cruel animal testing for a company is not to sell in China. While Wet n Wild was cruelty free prior to 2018, it remains to be seen how committed they will be to this in the future.