US Urged To Ban Trade of Giraffe Parts As Extinction Fears Grow
As one of the world’s biggest markets for giraffe parts, the US is fuelling the decline of giraffes, thanks to demand for items like stuffed giraffe “trophies” and giraffe skin bible covers.
Cowboy boots, bar stools, and even bible covers are some of the giraffe skin items found for sale in the U.S., which continues to be one of the world’s biggest markets for giraffe parts.
And this trade in giraffe parts has helped fuel the decline of giraffe populations, which have fallen around 40 percent over the last thirty years.
Now, with less than 100,000 giraffes left in the wild, campaigners are calling for the U.S. to finally ban its trade of giraffe parts in order to help prevent the animals’ extinction.
Kids Against Animal Poaching (KAAP) and Stop The Illegal Wildlife Trade are among those campaigning, and are together calling for people to write to the Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt to instate a ban.
“I was stunned to learn about the silent extinction of giraffes that is happening right now. These animals need us now more than ever”, Emily Walker, who founded KAAP at 13-years-old, told The Independent. "I think a lot of us took giraffes for granted as the focus was on saving species such as elephants and rhinos.”
Walker’s comments mirror what other campaigners have called the giraffe’s “silent extinction”. Loss of habitat and poaching are among the main drivers of the plummeting giraffe populations, along with poaching and the trade in giraffe parts.
“It’s our opinion that trophy hunting, and the legalised take of species that are endangered, are just going to exacerbate the decline” Paul Todd, senior staff attorney of the nature program at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told The Independent. “In other words, giraffes are endangered for a reason."
An undercover investigation by Humane Society International (HSI) in 2018, found that 40,000 giraffe parts were imported into the US from Africa between 2006-2015. These imports included 3,700 giraffe “trophies”.
The investigation also found that among the items for sale in the US, were a stuffed baby giraffe for $8,000, giraffe skin bible covers, and giraffe skin throw pillows.
You can send a letter to Bernhardt by visiting Kids Against Animal Poaching.
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The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.