Fashion Herd Urged to Save Tibetan Beauties

Two wildlife conservation groups are trying to save the latest fashion victims--endangered Tibetan antelopes killed to make luxurious scarves.

The World Wildlife Fund and the Wildlife Conservation Society on Thursday launched “Don’t Buy Shahtoosh,” an awareness campaign to help stop demand for shahtoosh shawls and scarves made from the hair of chiru antelopes. The groups have recruited model Shalom Harlow to make appearances and solicit support from the fashion industry. An advertising campaign is slated to follow later next month.

To obtain the downy wool, considered the finest in the world, the chiru must be killed, always by illegal means. (Trade has been internationally banned since 1979. These shawls should not be confused with pashmina shawls, which are made from cashmere--goat hair--and are legal.)

Three to five animals must be killed to yield enough wool for one shahtoosh shawl. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, the animals are either caught in leg-hold traps or gunned down by poachers. Shahtoosh dealers, the society said, have incorrectly claimed the wool is plucked from bushes where the animals shed.

Until recently, the shawls, which sell for $2,000 to $15,000, were sold openly. According to published reports, wildlife officials became alarmed by a drop in the chiru population. When they discovered a corresponding rise in the popularity of the shawls, they made the connection. With education, conservationists hope they can extinguish the desire to own what many consider the ultimate luxury.

“Anyone who wears a shahtoosh scarf has at least two endangered Tibetan antelope draped around their shoulders,” said George B. Schaller, director of science for the Bronx Zoo-based society. Schaller first saw poaching of the antelopes 10 years ago in Tibet and has recently expanded his efforts to stem demand.

Experts such as Schaller estimate that 20,000 of the animals are killed yearly, an extreme threat to the 70,000 chiru that remain in the wild.

The Don’t Buy Shahtoosh campaign coincides with the release of a report from TRAFFIC, the wildlife-monitoring program of the World Wildlife Fund and the World Conservation Union. The report, “Fashion Statement Spells Death for Tibetan Antelope,” details a shahtoosh industry stretching from remote deserts in China to trade routes in India and fashion centers in Hong Kong and New York.

Shahtoosh may be the finest wool in the world, but Schaller said he sees it differently: “These aren’t shawls,” he said. “They’re shrouds.”