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U.S. Endangered Species Act Protects Tibetan Antelope
(Comtex Community Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)YARMOUTH PORT, Mass., Mar 28, 2006 (U.S. Newswire via COMTEX) --The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced that it will protect the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii) under the Endangered Species Act. IFAW, (The International Fund for Animal Welfare ?? http://www.ifaw.org ) welcomes this decision.
Tibetan antelope, also called chiru, inhabit the high plateaus of western China. A century ago, more than one million Tibetan antelope roamed China and India. Today, the population has dropped below 75,000 due to the demand for its fur, which is used to make expensive shawls. In 1999, the Chinese government estimated that poachers kill 20,000 antelope every year to supply the international fashion market, despite national and international laws that protect the species.
For the last eight years, working in collaboration with enforcement agencies in China, India, Nepal, the UK, France and the U.S., IFAW has advocated for stronger protection for Tibetan antelope.
"Tibetan antelope are being driven to extinction for fashion products that no one needs," said IFAW's Asia Regional Director Grace Gabriel. "The Endangered Species Act listing provides U.S. law enforcement agencies with additional power to prosecute criminals involved in illegal trade of this highly endangered species."
For more than 20 years, Tibetan antelope have been illegally slaughtered for their fine underbelly wool to supply expensive "shahtoosh" shawls to fashion outlets in India, New York, Paris, London and elsewhere. A single shahtoosh shawl sells for more than U.S. $15,000.
The Tibetan antelope's range covers 50,000 square miles of rugged terrain with elevations over 13,000 feet, making anti- poaching efforts difficult. Tibetan antelope wool is smuggled through Nepal into Kashmir, where it is woven into shahtoosh shawls and sold internationally.
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EDITOR'S NOTE:
-- The Tibetan antelope inhabits the remote plateaus of Tibet, Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces of China with a small population in India.
-- Tibetan antelope are killed solely for their pelts. Three to five animals are killed to weave one shahtoosh shawl.
-- Tibetan antelope are protected under Appendix I of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits any international trade in their products.
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About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Founded in 1969, IFAW works around the globe to protect animals and their habitats and to create a better world for animals and people. To learn how to help, please visit http://www.ifaw.org.
http://www.usnewswire.com
Chris Cutter of the International Fund for Animal
Welfare, 508-744-2066 or ccutter@ifaw.org,
Web: http://www.ifaw.org
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