Service Finds Listing of Tibetan Antelope as Endangered May Be Warranted

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed its review of a petition submitted by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Tibetan Plateau Project of the Earth Island Institute, and has determined that listing the Tibetan antelope as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act may be warranted. This preliminary determination is called a "90-day finding." The Service has until October of this year to make its final determination, or "12-month finding," as to whether a listing as endangered is warranted. The 90-day finding was published in the April 25, 2000 Federal Register.

The Tibetan antelope or "chiru," is native to the Tibetan Plateau in China as well as small areas of northern India and western Nepal. As recently as 40 to 50 years ago, some 500,000 to 1,000,000 Tibetan antelope may have roamed the Plateau. Today its numbers have declined precipitously and could be as low as 65,000-75,000 individuals. In addition, the species' role as the dominant grazing animal of the Tibetan Plateau ecosystem has already been reduced and could be eliminated long before the antelope actually goes extinct.

Tibetan antelope populations are declining principally because large numbers of chiru are being killed illegally for their wool, known in the international marketplace as "shahtoosh" or "king of wool." Shahtoosh is considered to be one of the finest animal fibers in the world and, since the 1980's, expensive shahtoosh shawls and scarves have become high fashion status symbols in the west. This international commercial demand for shahtoosh has, in turn, brought about sharply increased poaching and fuels a lucrative illegal trade which continues to thrive despite conservation and enforcement efforts by the Chinese government. Tibetan antelope are always killed to collect their wool. No cases of capture-and-release wool collection are known, nor is naturally-shed wool collected from shrubs and grass tufts as is often erroneously stated, primarily by people within the shahtoosh trade.

Habitat impacts, especially grazing for domestic livestock, also appear to be contributing to population declines, and could have potentially greater effect in the near future.

Since 1979, international commerce in shahtoosh and shahtoosh products has been prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an agreement which regulates global trade in animals and plants. It is illegal to commercially import shahtoosh products into the United States.

Worldwide concern for the plight of the Tibetan antelope led the Chinese government to sponsor a workshop in Xining, China in October 1999. The International Workshop on Conservation and Control of Trade in Tibetan Antelope, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service attended, issued a call for wildlife protection agencies, police, and states that process and consume shahtoosh products to intensify their efforts to crack down on poaching and smuggling operations. Referred to as the "Xining Declaration," it also called on consuming nations to conduct public education campaigns, to assist in law enforcement efforts and to strengthen partnerships with international and non- governmental organizations involved in the protection of the Tibetan antelope.

To assist global efforts to improve trade protection for the chiru, the 151 CITES member nations adopted a resolution calling for measures to reduce poaching of the Tibetan antelope and the illegal trade in its parts and products, especially shahtoosh. The resolution, adopted at the recently concluded 11th Conference of the Parties to CITES, calls for all countries, whether or not they are parties to the treaty, to adopt legislation and to implement enforcement efforts aimed at eliminating this trade; for international cooperation for law enforcement and outreach efforts to raise public awareness; and for technical and financial assistance to those countries with indigenous populations in order to improve their anti-poaching efforts, enable them to carry out population surveys, and develop comprehensive conservation plans for the species.

For information concerning U.S. laws protecting the Tibetan antelope, visit the Fish and Wildlife Service's homepage - www.fws.gov - and go to "conservation issues." You can download a copy of the April 25, 2000 Federal Register Notice by visiting our international affairs homepage - international.fws.gov - and scrolling down to the section entitled "Public Insights."

Comments, information, and questions may be submitted until June 26, 2000 either by mail to the Chief, Office of Scientific Authority; Mail Stop: Room 750, Arlington Square, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC 20240; by fax to 703-358-2276; or by e-mail at R9osa@fws.gov.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Services manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System of more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management assistance offices, 64 Fishery Resource Offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

See also: "Protecting the Tibetan Antelope"
Questions? Please contact Pat Fisher at Pat_Fisher@fws.gov