Skinned, stuffed and tanned, wild giraffes are up for sale at dozens of stores across the United States. While importing and selling wild giraffes and giraffe products, such as giraffe rugs and taxidermied trophies, is legal in the U.S., conservationists and animal welfare advocates say these practices are nudging the species closer toward extinction. On […]
Tag: giraffes
Chinese mining firms in Zimbabwe pose threat to endangered species, say experts
Rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs and other endangered species face a new threat in Zimbabwe’s Hwange national park: Chinese mining companies. Zhongxin Coal Mining Group and Afrochine Smelting have received permission from the government to begin environmental impact assessments for drilling, land clearance, road building and geological surveys at two proposed sites inside the park, which is […]
Giraffes are vulnerable to extinction. So why won’t America decide on protecting them until 2025?
Since the mid-eighties, giraffes have been on a steady decline. Population numbers have dwindled by 40 per cent, leaving around 68,000 mature adults in the wild. To put it in context, there is reportedly one giraffe for every four African elephants, which themselves are considered a vulnerable species. Despite giraffes’ precarious status, dubbed a “silent […]
New York is the First State to Ban the Sale of Giraffe Products!
Last year, an undercover investigation by Humane Society International and Humane Society of the United States found that “nearly 4,000 giraffes killed by trophy hunters were imported into the United States over the last decade.” At least 51 dealers in the United States sell giraffe parts online and in stores, from knife handles to giraffe […]
Petition: Shut Down Ohio Safari Attraction After Fire in Dangerously Heated Barns
At the end of November, a devastating fire broke out at the African Safari Wildlife Park in Ohio. Ten animals were burned alive. While the staff members said they were devastated by the loss and grieved the animals, the problem at the core of this is that wild African animals don’t belong in captivity, especially […]
POLL: Should the Fish and Wildlife Service protect giraffes as an endangered species?
Animal advocacy and conservation organizations are taking the Trump administration to court for failing to protect giraffes who are suffering from what’s been dubbed a “silent extinction.” Although they might be one of the most easily recognizable and beloved animals on earth, giraffes have been quietly disappearing at an alarming rate. Since the mid-1980s, their […]
The neglected giraffe: world’s tallest animal in need of conservation assistance
Just two year’s before his assassination, Julius Caesar brought to Rome one of the world’s most astonishing living creatures: a giraffe. The animal was among Caesar’s spoils from his campaign in Egypt and according to the Roman writer, Dio, the giraffe, which was arguably the first to ever touch European soil, was paraded in the […]