Americans Have a Surprisingly Large Appetite for Giraffe Parts

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

By Jason Daley
SMITHSONIAN.COM
AUGUST 24, 2018 11:26AM

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.

To get a handle on just how many giraffe products are reaching the U.S., HSI investigators looked at the market for giraffes in the U.S. They found 51 dealers across the U.S. that sell giraffe parts, both online and in stores. Among the items they encountered were a fully taxidermied juvenile giraffe, a custom giraffe jacket for $5,500, skulls, hides, rugs, a giraffe leather Bible cover and a bracelet. The other 40,000 items imported between 2006 and 2015 include 21,000 giraffe bone carvings, 4,000 raw bones and 2,000 bone pieces, as well as 700 full skins and 3,000 partial skins. The most common giraffe product found by the investigation was western-style boots made from giraffe hide, costing around $400. Those combined items represent some 4,000 individual giraffes.

As restrictions have tightened on importing products from other African animals into the U.S., giraffes have become the exotic animal of choice. Bringing home elephant trophies and lion hides from certain countries, for example, was banned under the Obama administration, though a court struck down that ban in March. Even so, giraffes make up the lion’s share of the African megafauna market.

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americans-have-surprisingly-large-appetite-giraffe-parts-180970126/#9DIW468TQwEyFFQJ.99