U.S. to Consider Listing Giraffes as Endangered Species

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4. Americans Have a Surprisingly Large Appetite for Giraffe Parts

An investigation shows 40,000 giraffe products representing 4,000 of the endangered animals have been legally imported over the last decade


While animal prints have gone in and out of fashion over the decades (for what it’s worth, they are currently in), actual exotic animal skins are generally frowned upon by eco-conscious consumers. But a new investigation by Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States reveals that some Americans have a taste for the real thing: Over the last decade, 40,000 giraffe skins and body parts have been imported into the U.S. from Africa.

In 2016, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the scientific body that maintains the international endangered species list, placed giraffes on the list for the first time, changing their status from “least concern” to “vulnerable” and listing two subspecies as “endangered.” That’s because habitat degradation, poaching and human conflicts have reduced giraffe numbers by more than 30 percent over 30 years, to just under 100,000 animals. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which administers the endangered species list in the United States, does not list giraffes as endangered, meaning that it’s still legal to import bits and pieces of giraffes into the U.S.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americans-have-surprisingly-large-appetite-giraffe-parts-180970126/