Trade in Giraffe body parts will now be strictly regulated since countries signatory to the CITES convention voted on August 22nd to list the single species
Giraffa camelopardalis under Appendix II as vulnerable to extinction.
[photo credit: Getty Images] Giraffe numbers have fallen by 40% over the past thirty years in what the ICUN has called a "silent extinction". The listing does not ban the active trade in giraffe parts, but will provide critical measures of the trade, the first step towards halting it altogether. Between 2005 and 2016 the United States alone recorded the importation of 39,000 giraffe specimens equivalent to 3,751 giraffes; around 95% were hunting trophies. Trafficked parts include carved bones, tails, meat, and hides.
The NRDC and other conservation organizations sued to force the US Fish & Wildlife Service to consider listing the species as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Service has responded with a positive "ninety day finding", saying there is a substantial presentation of facts which may be a basis for protection under the Act. The Service took an entire year and the lawsuit to finally respond to the original petition to list the species. The fact that giraffes are a target for trophy hunters probably explains why the agency took so long to respond to the listing petition. Il Douche and his son, MiniMe, are known to support trophy hunting.
