But its latest move has the fur flying in a catfight between animal-rights activists and fashionistas. A unanimous City Council vote last week to ban the sale of fur apparel has outraged the fashion industry, one of the primary businesses this tiny city, wedged between Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, has worked hard to attract.
A national fur industry trade group is based here, and Melrose Avenue, Sunset Strip and Beverly and Santa Monica boulevards are home to high-end fashion houses, many with fur in their lines, as well as nightspots where fur is flaunted. Business leaders say more than 90 fur-selling retail shops will be hurt, some forced to close or move.
"They've worked very hard over the last 10 years to establish themselves as a fashion destination — money and time wasted now," says Keith Kaplan, executive director of the Fur Information Council of America.