WRAP UP THE TRADE AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO SAVE THE ENDANGERED TIBETAN ANTELOPE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE Published by: Citation: IFAW/WTI (2001), Wrap Up the Trade: An International Campaign to Save the Endangered Tibetan Antelope All rights reserved. All material appearing in this publication International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is copyrighted and may be reproduced only with permission. International Headquarters Any reproduction in full or in part must credit IFAW/WTI as a 411 Main Street, Yarmouth Port, MA, 02675, USA copyright owner With offices in: Australia Cover Photos: George Schaller, IFAW/Wild Yak Patrol, Belgium Friends of Nature, Scott Gabriel, Liu Wulin, Canada Aniruddha Mookerjee/WTI, IFAW/Stevens. 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South Africa United Kingdom This book can be used subject to the condition that it shall The International Fund for Animal Welfare works to improve not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, the welfare of wild and domestic animals throughout the or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written world by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent IFAW seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty user and without limiting the rights under copyright reserved to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation above. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored policies that advance the well being in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any of both animals and people. form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above-mentioned publisher of this book. Wildlife Trust of India Registered Office: B5/22, Safdarjang Enclave, Designed by Lawrence & Beavan New Delhi 110029, India Typeset in Frutiger Printed by Creasey Flood Copyright © IFAW/WTI 2001 Printed on environment-friendly paper 2 WRAP UP THE SHAHTOOSH TRADE Acknowledgments It is always the combined effort of various people that goes our point of view. Ghulam Rasool, without whose help this into producing a report whose subject matter spans three survey would not have been possible. And the innumerable continents. We gratefully acknowledge the help, support men, women and children in Kashmir, who pour their woes and effort put in by all the people who have assisted us in out, and abuse you, but still manage to give you a steaming so many ways to bring out this report. Many of them cup of kahwa and a smile at the end of it. cannot be named and some would like to remain anonymous. To them our heartfelt gratitude. In London, we’d like to thank Carol McKenna for her contributions to this report, and Andy Fisher of ‘Operation We want to thank the following people who have so Charm’, London Metropolitan Police. generously given their time and effort towards this project: We thank Dr. George Schaller for being the first to see the The six enumerators in Kashmir who are walking door-to- chiru’s plight and alarming the world about it. Also the door, braving bullets and being frisked on every street: scientists and biologists who have been working for many Malik Abdul Maajid, Javeed Hassan Ganai, Wasim Rasool years in the Tibetan antelope range, Dr. William Bleisch and Mir, Fayaz Ahmad Mir, Sayed Zahoor Ahmad Geelani, Li Weidong, for sharing their scientific knowledge and Mohd Tajamul Islam. concern about the chiru. We are grateful to Mr. Jiesang Suonandajie, who dedicated his life to Tibetan antelope The fashion fraternity that unanimously stood up for the protection during the fateful gun battle with poachers in chiru and pledged against the use of shahtoosh. In India, of 1994 in the Kekexili Protected Area. Also special thanks to special mention are the efforts of Ritu Kumar, Gitanjali Qica Zhabaduojie and Liang Yinquan, successors to Kashyap, Ashwin Kumar and Amrish Kumar who despite Suonandajie for leading the Wild Yak Patrol in 6 years of their very hectic schedules, spent time and offered anti poaching patrols in the Kekexili protected area and for invaluable inputs for taking the project forward. Without making the world aware of the plight of the chiru. We their support, conveying this message to the public would commend the courageous men and women who work have been almost impossible. under extremely difficult conditions in the Qiangtang, Arjinshan and Kekexili nature reserves in the Tibetan Dhanu Sherpa, whose cooking and sense of humour kept antelope range. us alive in Tibet. Archana Bahuguna, for generously providing information on the forensic identifications of the Our thanks to Dr. Meng Xianlin of CITES China, Mr. Xiao wool. Uma Bahttacharya, for making the maps of trade Xingwei and Mr. Cao Zhen of State Forestry Police routes and the shahtoosh manufacturing sites in record Administration, Mr. Wang Dehui of State Environmental time. Sathyan, Saral and Riju for their hard work. Protection Administration, Mr. Zhang Jianlong and Mr. Chen Jianwei of State Forestry Administration, Mr. Qu Dr. Ravindran Gopinath and Mohammed Khalid Pasha, for Gepin of Chinese People’s Congress and Vice Premier Li their advice in the analysis. Hillal Ahmed Wani, who readily Lanqing of Chinese Government for their concerns on the opened his doors and gave us access to a world we would conservation of Tibetan antelope and their promotion to 3 not have otherwise seen. Mr. Kallimullah, who finally saw strengthen the enforcement of the law. INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE Danping Yan Ying for their wonderful images of the wildlife We wish to thank Mr. Liang Congjie, Hu Jia, Yang Xin and species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and sadly also pictures Ms. Yang Ping and many friends from the Friends of Nature of the cruel slaughter and the awful realities. Their images (FON), Chinese Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), and articles provided the world with the first evidence Tibetan Antelope Information Center (TAIC) and relevant about the truth behind shahtoosh. Chinese environmental NGOs for their efforts to promote the public awareness of Tibetan antelope and wildlife Last but definitely not the least, everyone at the conservation in China. International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the Wildlife Trust of India who pitched in whenever required and gave We thank journalists and photographers, Xi Zhinong, Liu their best. Without their invaluable help and support this Yujun, Kang Yongjun, Ding Pin, Liu Wulin, Feng Gang, Sun report would not have been possible. IFAW/Wild Yak Patrol Yak IFAW/Wild 4 Young chiru WRAP UP THE SHAHTOOSH TRADE Contents Acknowledgments 3 Project Team 6 Executive Summary 7 Preface 11 The Species 15 The Wool 19 The Shawl 23 The Law 27 The Crime Poaching 31 Trade Investigation in Tibet, Delhi and London 37 Map of Shahtoosh Trade Routes 47 List of Seizures 48 The Socio Economic Survey 51 Map of Manufacturing Centres in Kashmir 50 The Campaign 59 The Way Ahead 65 Global Perspectives on Shahtoosh 68 Appendices 71 Bibliography 79 5 INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE Project Team INTERNATIONAL FUND Grace Ge Gabriel Vivek Menon FOR ANIMAL WELFARE and Karen Steuer Ashok Kumar WILDLIFE TRUST OF INDIA Erin Heskett Aniruddha Mookerjee Shibani Chopra Geeta S. Krahnke Nathan Argent Joanna Van Gruisen Sarah Tyack Mamta Tiwari Aster Zhang Mangal Man Shakya Rebecca Wu Nita Shah Jennifer Sheetz Rajiv Shirali Riyaz Ahmad Shomita Mukherjee Urvashi Dogra Aniruddha Mookerjee/WTI Tibet 6 WRAP UP THE SHAHTOOSH TRADE Executive Summary In its remote home high in the mountain plateaus of central Asia the endangered Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii), also known as the chiru, is among the world’s most protected species. Chiru running in the Arjinshah Reserve Despite all this the Tibetan antelope is being blasted into extinction. Feng Gang The chiru endures one of the harshest For 22 years this diminutive, yet magnificent environments on earth where severe blizzards can antelope with distinctive lyre-shaped horns has been rage and extreme temperatures can fall as low as classified under Appendix 1 of the Convention on -40° C. By way of adapting to the cold climate and International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES); barren landscape, evolution has equipped the chiru the highest legal protection for any species. Killing, with a unique dense under-fleece called shahtoosh. harming or trading in it is illegal worldwide. The antelope is being slaughtered indiscriminately by Domestic laws in both China and India have also poachers for its ultra fine under fleece wool, which is given the Tibetan antelope the highest protection, woven into luxury shawls. Most of these end up in banning poaching, killing and trading of this species the wardrobes of wealthy Westerners. 7 and its body parts. Anti-poaching patrols battle hard to protect the INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE antelopes from the ruthless well-armed poachers, purity. In India pure shahtoosh shawls cost between but it is a fight they are losing: their numbers are too US $800 and $5,280. Internationally prices are far few to cover the chiru’s 600,000 square kilometre higher. Some shawls seized during a police raid in territory on the inhospitable Tibetan plateau. London in 1997 were priced at up to US$17,600.