Giraffes threatened with ‘silent extinction’ thanks to illegal trophy hunting
A Humane Society International report has revealed the United States imported nearly 40,000 giraffe specimens between 2006 and 2015, such as hunting trophies, decoration items, and knife handles.
PATRICK KNOX: ‘Giraffes are facing what has been dubbed as a “silent extinction”, with numbers plummeting as much as 40 per cent over the last 30 years. Some species have seen their population fall by 95 per cent, largely thanks to illegal trophy hunting and the lucrative trade in body parts. The Nubian giraffe has seen its numbers collapse by a staggering 97 percent, while others in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya declined by more than 60 percent. Giraffe’s have already disappeared from seven countries: Eritrea, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Malawi, Mauritania and Senegal…
A Humane Society International report has revealed the United States imported nearly 40,000 giraffe specimens between 2006 and 2015, such as hunting trophies, decoration items, and knife handles. The EU is also a key consumer of giraffe products. Online research detailed in the proposal records over 300 giraffe products for sale by sellers based in seven European Union countries. These are here in the United Kingdom as well as Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Spain. Adam Peyman, Humane Society International’s wildlife programs and operations manager, said: “The giraffe is going quietly extinct as they are slaughtered for trophies and their body parts used for trinkets.”
Big game hunting is permitted in most African nations because governments say the revenue it generates helps fund “conservation” efforts… Cassandra Koenen of World Animal Protection said that giraffes “are not playthings for trophy hunting — an unsustainable and unregulated industry”. She said: “This message is loud and clear: people care about wild animals and believe they should belong in the wild, not as a trophy in your office”.’ SOURCE…
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