In early 2013 an image of a suffering rabbit began to circulate online accompanied by a claim attributing the animal's visibly poor health to laboratory testing conducted by the L'Oreal cosmetics and beauty company.
A version of the picture was posted to Twitter in
This bunny at a L'Oreal Lab. I will not buy any #L'Oreal products anymore! pic.twitter.com/XV2LE0AG
— jose (@jjose1202) February 9, 2013
When the photograph and claim spread across several social networks including Facebook in
Thanks for the opportunity to clarify. L'Oreal no longer tests any of its products or any of its ingredients on animals, anywhere in the world. Nor does L'Oreal delegate this task to others. An exception could only be made if regulatory authorities demanded it for safety or regulatory purposes. You can read more about our policy here:
As for the rabbit pictured, the condition it was suffering from was not induced through the cruelty of commercial product testing. The photograph originated with a Florida veterinarian's office and was originally published by the clinic as an example of a case of