The fashion community is increasingly committed to animal welfare. Just days after Donatella Versace declared that her brand will no longer carry fur, a California metropolis is becoming the largest American city to ban the sale of new fur items.

San Francisco has ruled that the selling of new fur pieces (not including vintage or secondhand apparel and accessories, sheepskin, or lambskin) will be illegal within city limits beginning next year, WWD reports. The ruling also applies to fur items purchased online, CBS reports. They will not be delivered to a San Francisco address, though no word yet on how the online ban will be enforced.

The city's board of supervisors approved the ban in a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, and it is reported that approximately 50 retailers in the city will be affected. Any violation will result in a $500 fine. If a retailer is found to have sold one fur hat and one mink coat, the fine would be $1000.

"I hope that it inspires other cities and the country to take action. Certainly we need better federal regulations on fur farming," supervisor Katy Tang said. "There's no humane way to raise an animal to peel its skin off." The Chamber of Commerce is reported to estimated fur sales in the city total $40 million a year; if retailers have current stock of fur items, they have until 2020 to sell them without penalty.

Other cities that have enacted fur bans include West Hollywood and Berkeley, California. Fur farms are outlawed in the U.K., Australia, Netherlands, and Norway, WWD reports.

"San Francisco is a hub for innovation, and this ban on fur sales places the city as a leader of ethical fashion and new textiles," said PJ Smith, senior manager of fashion policy for The Humane Society of the U.S.

The ruling will go into effect on January 1, 2019.