A sports retail chain has removed products from its UK website following pressure from animal rights extremists. French retailer Decathlon sells a wider range of hunting and shooting kit via its Decathlon.co.uk website than its chain of shops in the UK.
After a Tweet by birds rights activist Ruth Peacey, it has withdrawn its nine-shot cartridges which, it says, were listed on its website in error.
We want to appologise, as there have been issues both with the translation of some product information and also products we don’t sell in the UK (cartridges for example) appearing on the website, even if they were not available to purchase.
— Decathlon UK (@DecathlonUK) July 16, 2020
On Facebook, Decathlon went further, claiming that by removing hunting kit it was ‘having a positive impact on the environment’ and ignoring the work that shooters do to look after biodiversity.
Decathlon’s responses came about after a Tweet by Peacey. Her attack on Decathlon gained the support of a worldwide network of hundreds of animal rights enthusiasts who retweeted it:
Dear @DecathlonUK Not sure if you’re aware but it’s illegal to shoot songbirds (incl thrush) in the uk so I’m a bit confused as to why your website promotes gear specifically for this. t.co/KmUjXNtxQF pic.twitter.com/Fg84Qpwf5F
— Ruth Peacey (@ruthpeacey) July 16, 2020
However, Decathlon ignored the feelings of the 600,000 gun licence holders in the UK when it made its decision, causing anger among its core shoppers.
Peacey’s main grievance is that Decathlon’s 9-shot cartridges from its Solognac range are branded as suitable for thrushes, which are only shootable under individual licence in the UK, a licence that is rarely requested by shooters. However, the cartridges are also suitable for one of the UK’s most iconic gamebirds, the snipe. Most cartridge companies sell ammunition in the UK branded with wildlife which are either protected or do not occur in the UK countryside. The Norma Oryx range is a popular deer round.
Peacey’s single Tweet, its few hundred retweets, and few thousand who signed a Change.org petition from a network of animal rights activists set up to put pressure on companies was enough for Decathlon to cave in and announce its product withdrawal. Peacey, who worked for ten years for the BBC, went on the attack and demanded Decathlon remove products from more of its worldwide websites. One activist posted contact details for Decathlon, urgingin supporters to ‘Feel free to contact Decathlon’.
Decathlon’s response to that is more muted:
Hi Lisa, each country, within Decathlon, operates as a separate business, following the local laws and regulations. We have passed the feedback to the Solognac brand for them to act on it with the other countries.
— Decathlon UK (@DecathlonUK) July 16, 2020
