VICTORY: LACOSTE STOPS SELLING ANGORA

French Fashion Giant Pulls Angora Stock After PETA Campaign

London – French clothing company Lacoste has just confirmed to PETA that it's removing all angora wool products and has requested to be added to PETA's list of retailers that do not sell angora.

"As part of its CSR policy, we can confirm that Lacoste has no plan to use angora fibers in its coming collections", the company says in a statement.

"By committing to ending all angora sales and pulling this vile product from its international websites and shelves, Lacoste has done the right thing for animals and consumers", says PETA Director Mimi Bekhechi. "Angora production is cruel, and PETA urges the few remaining retailers, including Benetton, to learn from Lacoste's experience and show that cruelty to animals has no place in their stores. We have sent a box of vegan chocolates to the company's headquarters in Troyes, France, to thank Lacoste for its compassionate decision."

PETA Asia's unprecedented investigation shows that rabbits who have their fur cut or sheared also suffer greatly during the cutting process. Their front and back legs are tightly tethered so that they can be stretched out over a board – a terrifying experience for any prey animal. Others are suspended in the air by their forelimbs. Rabbits have very thin skin, and the sharp cutting tools invariably wound them as they struggle desperately to escape. The angora farming industry also condemns these intelligent animals to spend years in isolation in small, filthy wire cages that cut into their sensitive paws and prevent them from carrying out normal behaviour, exercise and interaction with other rabbits. These are standard practices in the barbaric angora industry. Regardless of whether the rabbits have been plucked or sheared, if a label says "angora", it means that rabbits have suffered. There quite simply is no way to obtain angora responsibly, which is why so many companies have switched to humane, animal-free fabrics, which are readily available.

Broadcast-quality video footage is available here. Photos from the investigation are available upon request.

To view an updated list of retailers that no longer sell angora, please " >click here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk..