Wrap up the trade --
campaigners call on fashion industry to prevent extinction of Tibetan antelope

LONDON (10-FEB-00) -- As fashion weeks in London, Paris and Milan reveal designs and trends for Autumn and Winter 2000, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is highlighting how fashionable demand for one luxury garment is bringing an entire species to the brink of extinction.

IFAW is urging top designers to help stamp out the illegal trade in Tibetan antelope skins which are used to make luxury fine woolen shawls known as shahtoosh and are a status symbol for the fashion elite [1]. If the shahtoosh trade, fuelled by demand from the West, continues at this pace it is estimated that the Tibetan antelope will be extinct within five years. IFAW is asking designers in Europe, the USA and Delhi to sign a pledge to help raise awareness of the illegal shahtoosh trade which follows a trail from China to India where they are woven and then illegally sold to markets in Europe or America. But although shahtoosh shawls continue to be sold discretely in countries such as the UK, USA, Italy and France, the trade has been illegal for over twenty years and shahtoosh itself is illegal contraband [2].

The Tibetan antelope, also known as the chiru, inhabits only the remote plateau of Tibet and Xinjiang and Qinghai provinces of China. The chiru population has dropped from several million at the turn of the 20th Century to less than 75,000 today. Only last month, dozens of poachers were arrested in the Qinghai Province and since the beginning of January this year 700 pelts and 1,000 rounds of ammunition were confiscated by the Chinese Authorities. Due to lack of patrols and new routes taken by the poachers, the illegal killing of the chiru continues unabated.

Myths have been created by illegal traders that Tibetan nomads gather the fine strands of wool left by the chiru from bushes that don't even exist on the barren plateaus which is the habitat of the chiru. The reality is grim. This rare and beautiful animal is becoming a true fashion victim. The herds of chiru are easy prey on the open plains for poachers who gun them down in the thousands, skin them and leave the corpses to rot. Poachers even target the chiru breeding grounds, gunning down pregnant chiru and mothers with their young [3].

Grace Gabriel, Director of IFAW's China office said; "The poachers regard chiru skin more precious than gold. They are following pregnant females into the calving grounds and killing them indiscriminately. It is heart breaking to see the baby chiru, still suckling even when the mother had been killed and skinned. Killing these animals just so their wool can adorn the necks of the rich is appalling and must stop. The Chinese Authorities are looking to the fashion industry to help stop the illegal trade."

Mike Baker of the IFAW UK office commented; "It's pure ignorance on the part of the consumer within the fashion elite that enables this illegal trade to continue. We are sure that wearers of shahtoosh would not want to be responsible for the demise of the Tibetan antelope. The fashion industry must immediately use their powerful market influence to raise awareness of this continuing illegal trade and stamp out demand for shahtoosh before it's too late. We are not talking about a luxury shawl - it's a shroud."

As well as promoting awareness throughout the fashion world, IFAW is supporting the Chinese Government's resolution to the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, which calls for support in ending the illegal trade in Tibetan antelope skins. IFAW is also working with groups in India to target the illegal market there, and is funding anti-poaching patrols and education programs on the ground in China.

For more information contact IFAW: Sarah Tyack: 44-20-587 6713 or 44-20-245 2737 (mobile) Lis Key: 0171 587 6708

Note to editors [1] Shahtoosh is Persian for "the king of wool" and is ultra-fine with a softer feel than even cashmere or angora. They are also known as ring shawls as then can be passed through a finger ring. The cost of these shawls normally varies between £1-5,000.

[2] The Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) banned all trade in chiru worldwide in 1975. In Britain it is a criminal offence to buy, sell or import shahtoosh. In February 1997 the Metropolitan Police Wildlife Unit seized 138 shahtoosh shawls in London worth £353,000. Proceedings start on Wednesday February 9th and the court case (which would be the largest shahtoosh prosecution in Europe) is to be held later on this year. In the United States last year a number of the fashion elite were obliged by the US wildlife authorities to explain where they had unwittingly illegally bought their shahtoosh from. But despite the public embarrassment caused to the rich and famous owners of shahtoosh, the trade is veiled with myths of how the wool is obtained without killing the animal and continues over the Internet and at discrete buying parties.

[3] The illegal trade in chiru pelts is also linked to the trade in tiger parts. Traffickers illegally bringing tiger parts from India to China, trade their contraband for shahtoosh, which they can sell back in India.

To view a full report on the shahtoosh trade, please visit: http://www.ifaw.org/pdfs/text.pdf

A Mac compatible CD ROM is available, containing the report with a full range of print quality images of the illegal shahtoosh trade to illustrate the story and a copy of the designer pledge form (in a logo file set in Illustrator 8).The images are scanned to 300 dpi and set in CMYK Video footage of seized Tibetan antelope pelts being burnt in China is also available. If you have problems reading the CD please call IFAW contacts listed above.

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