The Tibetan Antelope
Resource Page
Tibetan Antelope Conservation and the Shahtoosh
Trade
Extensive global media coverage during 1999 and 2000 alerted the
public to the critical status of the Tibetan antelope (Pantholops
hodgsonii). This magnificent animal is being relentlessly hunted for its
wool, known as "shahtoosh." Unless consumer demand for shahtoosh can
be eliminated, the species may be forced to the brink of extinction.
The slender, gazelle-like Tibetan antelope -- also called "chiru" --
is native to the Tibetan Plateau region, primarily in China. Chiru stand about
four feet high and males have horns 20-23 inches long, while females are
hornless; their coloration ranges from beige or light-grey to white.
The chiru's undercoat consists of shahtoosh (Persian for "king of
wools"), the softest, warmest wool in the world. The fiber measures 9-12
microns in diameter -- 1/5th that of a human hair. Shahtoosh shawls are so
fine
they can be threaded through a wedding ring -- earning them the nickname
"ring shawls."
The Tibetan antelope population was one million or more at the beginning of
the century, estimates eminent wildlife biologist George Schaller, the Wildlife Conservation Society's director for
science, but by the mid-90s chiru numbers had been reduced to less than 75,000,
due principally to poaching for shahtoosh. As many as
20,000 Tibetan antelope are killed annually to supply the trade, with males,
females and young slaughtered indiscriminately.
The only way to obtain shahtoosh is to kill the chiru -- three to five
dead antelope yield sufficient wool for one shawl. The chiru are skinned
and the
raw shahtoosh is collected and smuggled to India, where it is manufactured
into
shawls in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the only location in the world
where shahtoosh possession and manufacture are officially legalized. Shahtoosh
products are then illegally transported to fashion capitals worldwide, where
they sell for $2,000-$8,000, and occasionally for up to $15,000 or more.
International trade in Tibetan antelope products, including shahtoosh,
has been
wholly banned since 1979 under the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which regulates the
trade in
endangered species products, and it is illegal to import shahtoosh into
the U.S.
and many other countries. Domestic trade is also illegal in China and India,
except in
Jammu and Kashmir.
Fashion-driven demand for shahtoosh in the U.S. has been increasing in recent
years and shows little sign of waning. Shahtoosh seizures, as well as revelations
published in the November 1999 issue of Vanity Fair magazine regarding the
illegal trade, demonstrate that the U.S. is a key shahtoosh market.
Although there has been long-standing confusion over the true source of
shahtoosh, there is now sufficient publicly available information for
consumers to
make informed decisions and to reject shahtoosh products.
Ironically, the deaths of thousands of Tibetan antelope and the entire
shahtoosh trade are unnecessary, because attractive, fashionable alternatives
are available, including products made from the finest Tibetan cashmere
(also known as
"pashmina") and from yak wool, another excellent shahtoosh
substitute.
By purchasing cashmere and yak wool products, consumers can contribute to the
protection of the Tibetan antelope, as well as assist with supporting the
livelihoods of traditional communities in the Tibetan Plateau region.
Photos ©1999 Xi Zhinong.
Protecting Tibetan Antelope and
Halting the Shahtoosh Trade
Much remains to be done to enhance the effectiveness of international
conservation management and law enforcement efforts to protect the Tibetan
antelope and eliminate the shahtoosh trade. Although the import of
shahtoosh is
illegal in the U.S., internal trade still needs improved regulation and
enforcement.
Tibetan Antelope Information Resources TPP
offers one of the most extensive selections of information resources regarding
the Tibetan antelope and the shahtoosh trade available on the Internet,
including: The Tibetan Plateau Project and the Wildlife Conservation
Society have submitted a formal proposal to the U.S. government to designate
the Tibetan antelope as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). An
Endangered listing would outlaw the interstate sale and transport of shahtoosh --
a distinct problem where buyers cross state lines to purchase shahtoosh products.
How You Can Assist With Tibetan
Antelope Conservation
1) Don't buy any shahtoosh products anywhere they are sold, including
North America, the Mideast, Europe and Asia -- they are illegal to bring into the
U.S., wherever they're purchased.
2) Report any suspected sightings or sales of shahtoosh to TPP. We'll
forward the information to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other law
enforcement agencies.
3) Ask retailers about products made from the finest cashmere (aka
"pashmina"), yak wool and other fine fibers. By purchasing these products,
consumers can contribute to the protection of the Tibetan antelope as well as
assist with supporting the livelihoods of traditional communities in the
Tibetan Plateau region.
4) Relinquish any shahtoosh products in your possession to the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service as soon as possible (even samples are forbidden).
Importation of shahtoosh products into the U.S. is illegal under international
and domestic law, regardless of how they were acquired. For more information,
contact TPP.
5)Join TPP's Tibetan Antelope
Alert email update list for the latest news on the Tibetan antelope
and the international trade in shahtoosh. Send an email with the message "Subscribe Tibetan Antelope Alert"
to: tppei@earthisland.org
6) Support the Tibetan Plateau Project and its initiatives to save the
Tibetan antelope with a tax-deductible donation, and receive a year's
subscription to the award-winning Earth Island Journal. Click here for membership
information.
Articles on the
Tibetan Antelope and the International Shahtoosh Trade
"IUCN-World Conservation
Union Classifies Tibetan Antelope as 'Endangered' Species," TPP Press
Release, October 23, 2000.
"U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Affirms 'Drastic Decline' of the Tibetan Antelope," TPP Press
Release, April 26, 2000.
"Service Finds Listing of
Tibetan Antelope as Endangered May Be Warranted," U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service Press Release.
"Saving the Chiru,"
Earth Island Journal, Spring 2000.
"Conservationists
Offer Cautious Support for Renewed Efforts to Protect the Tibetan Antelope and
Control the Shahtoosh Trade," TPP Press Release, October 26, 1999.
"Environmentalists
Condemn Deadly Fashion Trend For Endangered Species Product," TPP Press
Release, December 1, 1998.
"Global Fashion
Threatens Rare Tibetan Antelope," Earth Island Journal, Fall 1998.
Tibetan Antelope Conservation News
"Guardians of a Threatened Species Will Soon
Be Extinct," Los Angeles Times, January 26, 2001.
"Guilty Pleas Underscore Moves Against Deadly
Fashion Statement," Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2000.
"Heroes of China's
Wasteland," Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2000.
"Shahtoosh Dealers Plead
Guilty to Smuggling and Illegal Sale of Tibetan Antelope Shawls," US Fish
and Wildlife Service Press Release, July 7, 2000.
"Fashion
victims: Chiru proposed for ESA listing," Environmental News Network, April
27, 2000.
"Shahtoosh
Industry Threatens Antelopes," Verde.Com, April 27, 2000.
"Shahtoosh
seizures shed light on plight of Tibet antelope," Environmental News
Network, April 16, 2000.
"London
Traders Caught in Shahtoosh Bust Plead Guilty," Environment News Service,
April 13, 2000.
"Haul of 7 shahtoosh
shawls from home of city builder," The Times of India, March 25, 2000.
"Antelope
protectors fight back," China Daily, February 11, 2000.
"Qinghai
closes nature reserve," China Daily, December 30, 1999.
"The
Shahtoosh Wars," The Hindustan Times, December 26, 1999.
"Have
guns, will
travel -- Wild Yak Brigade rides to the rescue of the rare chiru,"
U.S. News
& World Report, November 22, 1999.
"Push
under way to save Tibet antelope," Environmental News Network, October 31,
1999.
"Protection
of antelope crucial,"
China Daily, October 15, 1999.
"Tibetan
antelopes protected," China Daily, May 25, 1999.
"China
acts to foil Tibetan fur poachers," Electronic Telegraph,
(London), May 23, 1999.
"U.S. Groups Want
Tibet's Antelope Added to Danger List," Inter Press Service, December 21,
1998.
"China's 'Friends of Nature' Join
the Tibetan Antelope on the List of
Endangered Species," Independent on Sunday
(London), November 22, 1998.
"China's Top Tibet Antelope Campaigner
Slain," Reuters, November 17, 1998.
"Blair Declares War on the Antelope Poachers," Electronic Telegraph,
(London), November 17, 1998.
"Group
Seeking Protection of Chiru," China Daily, October 30, 1998.
"Endangered
Antelope Killed for High-End Fashion," CNN Interactive, July 5, 1998.
"Fashioned for Extinction -- An Expose of the Shahtoosh Trade."
Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), November, 1997.
Global Shahtoosh Trade News
"Shawls Sold
at Charity Event: So Soft and So Illegal," The New York Times, January 3,
2001 (Free website registration required).
"The
Shahtoosh Wars," The Hindustan Times, December 26, 1999.
"Soft,
Warm And Illegal," Time Magazine, October 18, 1999.
"It's a wrap for shahtoosh set,"
Electronic
Telegraph (London), October 5, 1999.
"Dead
Chic:
The Killer Trade in Shahtoosh," The Village Voice, May 26 - June 1, 1999.
"Wrap
Sheet:
The bloody trail of this year's fashion must," The Village Voice, February
10-16, 1999.
"Bloody
Shawls Exterminating Chiru," China Daily, January 14, 1999.
"Passion for
Pashmina," Newsweek, May 11, 1998.
©1998-2001, Tibetan Plateau Project.
All rights reserved.
TPP's Tibetan Antelope Conservation Campaign
is working with wildlife experts and conservation organizations to:
Chiru News From the Tibetan Plateau Project