Fashion victims: Chiru proposed for ESA listing

The Tibetan antelope, also known as the chiru, may be granted protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

By Environmental News Network staff

April 27, 2000
Web posted at: 12:28 p.m. EDT (1628 GMT)

Following a petition from the Tibetan Plateau Project and the Wildlife Conservation Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now agrees that an ESA listing for the Tibetan antelope, or chiru, may be warranted.

"The international demand for shahtoosh products is the most serious threat to the Tibetan antelope," FWS officials said Tuesday in announcing a status review of the species.

The decision also follows the recent Convention for the International Trade of Endangered Species meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. At the conference, 151 CITES members adopted a resolution calling for individual countries to increase measures aimed at reducing chiru poaching and illegal trade.

"The status review is the first step toward a potential decision to list the Tibetan antelope as an endangered species in the United States," said Justin Lowe, director of the Tibetan Plateau Project. "No other U.S. law can confer a degree of protection for the Tibetan antelope similar to the ESA, making an endangered listing essential to halting the shahtoosh trade in the United States and protecting the antelope in the Tibetan Plateau region."

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The Tibetan antelope numbered more than 1 million individuals a century ago. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the high-mountain horned animal has severely declined to less than 72,500 individuals.

In 1998, China's state forestry administration noted that as many as 20,000 Tibetan antelope are killed annually. At that rate, conservationists estimate the species could be extinct within the next five years.

Lack of law enforcement is one of the biggest hurdles to stemming that tide. Trade in chiru products was banned in 1979 under CITES. Nevertheless, unlawful traffic persists at an alarming rate throughout the world, particularly among the fashion elite, where a single shahtoosh shawl can command up to $15,000.

While it is illegal to import shahtoosh into the United States, enforcement officers must prove that a shahtoosh product is an unlawful import in order to seize it.

An ESA listing would ban the interstate sale and transport of shahtoosh, a distinct problem when buyers cross state lines to purchase shahtoosh products, Lowe said.

"To our knowledge, all investigations conducted by the Fish and Wildlife Service thus far are currently open," he said. "No investigations have ever been closed and no prosecutions have ever been conducted in the United States."

Shahtoosh wool from the chiru is considered to be finer than cashmere

"This would give us an additional tool to prosecute the trade of shahtoosh products," said Kurt Johnson, a lead biologist on the Tibetan antelope for the FWS. "We hope this encourages other countries to follow similar actions."

An ESA listing for the chiru would also make it illegal to purchase or sell shahtoosh products over the Internet.

"We are encouraged by the strong support for our petition shown by the Fish and Wildlife Service," said Joshua Ginsberg, director of Asia Programs for the Wildlife Conservation Society. " However, this finding does not assure the Tibetan antelope's listing. Conservation groups and concerned governments will need to continue to cooperate throughout the review process to assist the Service in making a determination to list the Tibetan antelope as endangered."

Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

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Tibetan Plateau Project
Wildlife Conservation Society
CITES
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Endangered Species Act

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