Die italienische Kette COOP hat sich dazu entscheiden in Zukunft pelzfrei zu sein, aus Tierschutzgründen, wie sie selber schreiben. Ab nächsten Winter wird das Unternehmen mit seinen dutzenden Niederlassungen in Italien auf Webpelze wechseln. hier noch die Stellungnahme von COOP:

Furs? Only synthetic The decision of Coop against the unacceptable conditions of the breedings of animals in China No more natural furs in the clothing in sale in the shops Coop. The decision was taken from the Board of directors of Coop Italy, the station of the purchases of the cooperatives, past february 26 and will become operating already from the next collection autumn-winter 2006-2007. The entire exclusion of the utilization of the natural furs - and the consequent passage to the synthetic furs - will be explicitly request in the new commercial contracts, to which the suppliers should cite specific declarations of conformity and of origin of the skins. Strict plans of control will keep watch on the respect of these rules. The choice of Coop ? first distributive chain to go in this direction ? is the concrete reply to the requests of the consumers, after the much documents that testify the unacceptable conditions of breeding of the animals from fur, now almost all concentrated in the extreme east, particularly in China. I research conducts and documented from the Lav (antivivisection League) and from other international organizations gave back official the methods employed from the chinese businesses for the production of furs: the animals come stunned with blows to the head, beaten on the ground with violence and, often, scuoiati when I am still in life. Already for some time Coop asked for to the actual suppliers produced respectful of the convention of Washington, that protects all of the animals in road of extinction, extending such engagement also to the domestic animals (dogs and cats). Today the decision of to abolish entirely the natural utilization of furs, to send a strong signal to the world of the founding and of the production.