The Possible Exploitation of Giraffes Through the CITES Appendix II Listing

By: Jessica A. Chapman

Giraffidae is the family of four species and nine subspecies of giraffe.[1] According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species and subspecies’ populations have declined by 40%  in the past three decades, totaling approximately 97,500 extant giraffes in the wild.[2] Only 68,293 of those giraffes are sexually mature and could contribute to population growth.[3] Historically, giraffes have not received the same attention regarding their dwindling numbers as other African species – including the elephant, rhinoceros, and lion families – which has led to giraffes’ “silent extinction.”[4] Though many giraffes are poached for their meat by neighboring humans because of extreme poverty,[5] or for their parts to be used in dowries,[6] as status symbols,[7] and in herbal medicine,[8] poachers have significantly influenced giraffes’ population decline.[9] Between 2006 and 2015, 39,516 giraffe “specimens” were imported into the United States.[10] These body parts totaled a conservative estimate of more than 3,751 giraffes,[11] primarily from South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.[12] At least fifty of those giraffes were members of a critically endangered subspecies.[13] Giraffe parts are also imported to European countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[14]

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”) is an agreement between 183 countries that regulates the international trade of animals and plants to protect species from extinction.[15] CITES lists species that are threatened by extinction on three appendix levels; each appendix identifies a different degree of protection the species require.[16] CITES prohibits all commercial forms of international trade for species listed within Appendix I.[17] However, for Appendix II species, CITES closely regulates international trade, but does allow restricted trade of those species by authorizing annual quotas of export permits.[18]

This past August, CITES held its 18th meeting, during which CITES members voted to list the Giraffidae family in Appendix II.[19] The Giraffidae family was an Appendix II candidate because giraffes, in the aggregate, have experienced downward population trends because of their zero population growth rate in the wild,[20] compounded with death through habitat loss and fragmentation,[21]  civil wars,[22] human need,[23] and commercial exploitation.[24] Some CITES southern African member states, protested the Giraffidae Appendix II listing, stating their countries have successfully managed their giraffe populations.[25] Countries including South Africa held CITES has little evidence international trade contributes to giraffes’ declining populations.[26] These members argued their countries should not be penalized for other member states’ inability to protect their giraffes from loss of habitat and poaching.[27] However, these countries can still export giraffes as long as the giraffes are legally hunted and the hunting does not compromise the species.[28]

Similar to giraffes, wild lion populations are decreasing because of habitat loss, their perceived threat to surrounding villagers’ livestock, and incidental deaths caused by bushmeat traps.[29] CITES listed lions as an Appendix II species in 1977. As wild lion populations continued to dwindle, South African private game farms increased their breeding rate of captive lions for trophy hunting because purchasers could export captive lions and their parts with CITES permits, permits which the South African Government does not adequately monitor.[30] This faulty permit system also enables poachers to illegally export wild lions for trophies, Traditional Chinese Medicine (“TCM”), and trinkets.[31] The exploitation occurs because South African game farms legally raise and kill captive lions for canned hunts and exports since the animals are not part of the wild lion population, and so, their deaths allegedly do not impact wild population numbers.[32] In turn, to supply the new demand for lion parts, poachers hunt wild lions because they are cheaper than purchasing captive lions, and then they label the wild lions as having been captive.[33] South Africa may claim its lion populations have increased, but that claim only exists because their count includes decreasing wild populations and increasing captive populations whose existence does not and cannot support conservation efforts.[34]

Established game farm exploitation of animals and the farms’ influence on increased poaching could lead to the decline of wild giraffe populations. We might speculate South Africa’s successful population management of its giraffes includes wild and captive giraffes.[35] If this conclusion proves true, South Africa’s alleged population increase would falsely depict giraffes’ improved survival rate in the wild, and South Africa’s protection of its wild populations. Several countries, including South Africa,[36] Zimbabwe,[37] and Namibia[38] have legal private game farms for giraffe trophy hunting. And, as seen for canned lion hunting, these businesses do not conserve wild giraffe populations.[39] Based on the reasons for giraffes’ decline, and legal game farms’ established practice of raising captive giraffes for trophy hunting, without adequate oversight, the Appendix II listing could condemn giraffes to a similarly exploited fate as the fate lions have experienced. An even more worrisome fact is that traffickers who have been caught smuggling endangered rhinoceros parts have also been caught smuggling illegally hunted lion parts[40] and illegally hunted giraffe parts.[41] These trafficking paths are concerning because illegal traders have been able to leave South Africa with body parts of protected species under the guise of fake CITES permits, without CITES permits, and with parts from protected wild species that illegal traders listed as captive animals.[42]

If South Africa has not improved its CITES permit system for lions, it likely has not established an adequate permit system for giraffe exports. This oversight means that poachers and illegal traders will be able to exploit the CITES permit system to export captive and wild giraffes from South Africa. If poaching wild giraffes becomes cheaper than buying captive giraffes, the wild populations will continue to decrease, despite claims that giraffe populations are on the rise. Furthermore, if poachers have circumvented the permit system by smuggling more lions than the number of permits CITES authorized, traffickers will likely be able to smuggle more giraffes from South Africa than the number of authorized CITES giraffe permits.

South Africa’s Gauteng High Court recently ruled in favor of animal welfare and determined quotas for protected species was “unlawful and constitutionally invalid.”[43] The Court also ruled animal welfare and species protection must be considered in the private game farm business. [44] However, that ruling does not prevent farms from raising protected species, including giraffes, for trophy hunting and exports.[45] Animal welfare protections may improve the living conditions of captive animals, but that care will likely increase the cost of those captive animals. Therefore, private game farms have an increased incentive to raise more giraffes for canned hunts and the parts trade, and raise their prices, because game farms are the primary legal source for giraffe trophies since farms claim their practices do not negatively impact wild populations. Poachers and wildlife traffickers, in turn, have an increased incentive to hunt wild giraffes because they have established practices and routes for trafficking other protected species, and the wild giraffe populations will be cheaper than their captive counterparts.

The CITES Appendix II listing of the giraffe species marks the turning point of their survival or extinction in the wild. We have two choices: We can recognize the Appendix II listing as a symbolic gesture to protect giraffes and look away when their increased regulation inadvertently exacerbates the decline of wild populations through private game farms, trophy hunting, and illegal trafficking. Or, we can protect giraffes from the fate we imposed on wild and captive lions and find solutions to protect captive giraffes from commercial exploitation and protect wild giraffes from poaching. We should utilize CITES’s protection and promote its spirit and mission by refusing to let wild giraffes silently disappear and become nothing more than another notch in our history of species eradication.  

#CITES #Giraffe #Lions #South Africa #Game Farms #Wildlife #Conservation #Appendix II

[1] The four subspecies are the southern giraffe, the Masai giraffe, the reticulated giraffe, and the northern giraffe. Nicholas St. Fleur, A Quadruple Take on the Giraffe: There are Four Species, Not One, N.Y. Times (Sept. 8, 2016), https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/09/science/a-quadruple-take-on-the-giraffe-its-four-species-not-one.html.

[2] See Staff Writers, Wildlife meeting backs more protection for giraffes, TerraDaily (Aug. 22, 2019),  http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Wildlife_meeting_backs_more_protection_for_giraffes_999.html, and Damian Carrington, Wildlife summit votes down plan to allow sale of huge ivory stockpile, Guardian (Aug. 22, 2019),  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/22/cites-wildlife-summit-giraffe-protections-global-trade-parts-saiga-antelope-horn, and Giraffe, IUCN Red List (last assessed July 9, 2016), https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9194/136266699.

[3] IUCN Red List, supra note 2. The number of mature individuals is divided into nine subspecies, which indicates dwindling numbers and negatively forecasts each subspecies’ chance for population growth and survival. Yonette Joseph, Rare White Giraffes Cause a Stir in Kenya, N.Y. Times (Sept. 16, 2017), https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/16/world/africa/rare-white-giraffe-kenya.html. Researchers have not found any evidence that the four species or nine subspecies of giraffe cross-mate in the wild. St. Fleur, supra note 1. The Masai, and reticulated giraffe subspecies are considered endangered, and the Nubian and Kordofan giraffe subspecies are considered critically endangered. Rachel Fobar, Masai giraffes declared endangered, Nat’l Geographic (July 12, 2019), https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/07/masai-giraffes-subspecies-declared-endangered/.

[4] Giraffes Win Big at CITES Wildlife Conference, Afr. Wildlife Found. (Aug. 23, 2019), https://www.awf.org/news/giraffes-win-big-cites-wildlife-conference. CITES acknowledges there are only “a few tens of thousands of giraffes” in the wild, compared to “a few hundreds of thousands of African elephants” in the wild. Id.

[5] See Matt Collis, Big win for giraffes as iconic species is afforded protection from trade for first time to halt its ‘silent extinction’, Int’l Fund for Animal Welfare (Aug. 22, 2019), https://www.ifaw.org/international/news/giraffes-afforded-protection-from-trade-to-halt-silent-extinction, and Jani Actman, Giraffes Are Being Killed for Their Tails, Nat’l Geographic (Aug. 10, 2016), https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/wildlife-giraffes-garamba-national-park-poaching-tails/.

[6]  Actman, supra note 5.

[7] Id.

[8] Guest Post, Poaching and Trophy Hunting Endanger Africa’s Fragile Giraffe Populations, Incidental Tourist (Apr. 28, 2019), http://theincidentaltourist.com/poaching-and-trophy-hunting-endanger-africas-fragile-giraffe-populations/.

[9] Collis, supra note 5.

[10] Rachel Nuwer, Giraffes Get New Protections, but Will It Be Enough?, N.Y. Times (Aug. 23, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/science/giraffes-endangered-protections.html.

[11] Collis, supra note 5. The imports include 21,402 bone carvings, 3,008 skin pieces, 3,744 hunting trophies. Id.

[12] Afr. Wildlife Found., supra note 4. South Africa exported the most giraffes of those three countries, and exported approximately 60% of the total trophy hunted giraffes between 2006-2015. Guest Post, supra note 8.

[13] Nuwer, supra note 10.

[14] Collis, supra note 5.

[15] What is CITES?, CITES (last visited Oct. 2, 2019), https://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.php.

[16] How CITES works, CITES (last visited Oct. 2, 2019), https://www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.php [hereinafter How CITES works]. CITES considers Appendix 1 species endangered. CITES considers Appendix II species vulnerable to becoming endangered. CITES considers Appendix III species need protection from commercial exploitation so their populations do not become vulnerable. For more information, see The CITES Appendices, CITES (last visited Oct. 2, 2019), https://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.php [hereinafter The CITES Appendices].

[17] The CITES Appendices, supra note 16.

[18] Id.

[19] Dina Fine Maron & Rachel Fobar, The world’s biggest conference on wildlife trade is happening. Get the details., Nat’l Geographic (Aug. 29, 2019), https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/08/breaking-news-from-cites/.

[20] Carrington, supra note 2. Female giraffes do not reach sexual maturity until approximately six years of age. Then, they can reproduce every two years. Id. Unfortunately, most giraffe calves do not survive their first year in the wild, which means giraffes experience nearly a “zero population growth in natural situations.” Id. (Internal quotations omitted).

[21] See Maron & Fobar, supra note 19, and Carrington, supra note 2.

[22] Carrington, supra note 2.

[23] Guest Post, supra note 8.

[24] Id.

[25] Carrington, supra note 2.

[26] Staff Writers, supra note 2.

[27] Carrington, supra note 2.

[28] Maron & Fobar, supra note 19. As previously mentioned, counting the species’ populations as a whole does not account for the giraffe subspecies that are already considered endangered and critically endangered. See also How CITES works, supra note 16.

[29] Threats to Lions, Lion Recovery Fund (last visited Oct. 2, 2019), https://www.lionrecoveryfund.org/threats-to-lions/.

[30] In 2017, CITES approved 800 export permits to South Africa for lions. However, the total weight of exported bodies and body parts totaled a conservative estimate of 870 exported lions. EMS Found. & Ban Animal Trading, Extinction Business: South Africa’s ‘Lion’ Bone Trade 40-41 (2018), available at  http://emsfoundation.org.za/wp-content/uploads/THE-EXTINCTION-BUSINESS-South-Africas-lion-bone-trade.pdf.

[31] See, e.g., Jane Dalton, South Africa almost doubles annual quota of lion bones exported for traditional Chinese medicine, Independent (July 22, 2018), https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/lions-bones-south-africa-tigers-ramaphosa-exports-poaching-canned-hunting-traditional-chinese-a8459216.html, and Sharon Guynup, Tigers in Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Universal Apothecary, Nat’l Geographic (Apr. 29, 2014), https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/04/29/tigers-in-traditional-chinese-medicine-a-universal-apothecary/.

[32] EMS Found. & Ban Animal Trading supra note 30, at 16; How CITES Works, supra note 16.

[33] Born Free, Cash Before Conservation: An Overview of the Breeding of Lions for Hunting and Bone Trade 8 (2018), available at https://www.bornfree.org.uk/publications/cash-before-conservation; EMS Found. & Ban Animal Trading, supra note 30, at 43.

[34] The latest estimates indicate there are more than 8,400 captive-bred lions in South Africa, and only 20,000 lions that exist in the wild. See Rachel Nuwer, Lion Bones Are Profitable for Breeders, and Poachers, N.Y. Times (July 15, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/15/science/lion-bones-poaching.html, and The State of the Lion, Panthera (last visited Oct. 2, 2019), https://www.panthera.org/cat/lion. See also EMS Found. & Ban Animal Trading, supra note 30, at 7-8.

[35] For instance, a South African ecologist stated the country’s giraffe populations have increased, however, 30,000 of those giraffes are captive animals that live on private game farms. Nuwer, supra note 10. More research must be done, as will be necessary for giraffes’ Appendix II listing.

[36] Though South Africa’s giraffe population has doubled since 1985, half of its current giraffe population live on privately owned game farms for trophy hunting. Nuwer, supra note 10.

[37] Hunting in Zimbabwe, ASH Adventures (last visited Oct. 2, 2019), https://www.africanskyhunting.co.za/areas/zimbabwe.html.

[38] Price List, Ozondjahe Hunting Safaris Afr. (last visited Oct. 2, 2019), https://africanhuntingsafaris.com/namibia-hunting/.

[39] Lion Farming & Canned Hunting, Born Free (last visited Oct. 5, 2019), https://www.bornfree.org.uk/canned-hunting.

[40] See, e.g., Rene Ebersole, New Yorker Imprisoned for Smuggling $K in Lion and Tiger Parts, Nat’l Geographic (Aug. 10, 2018), https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/08/wildlife-watch-lion-tiger-parts-trafficking-arrest/.

[41] Guest Post, supra note 8.

[42] See EMS Found. & Ban Animal Trading, supra note 30, at 68-69, 96, and Envt’l Investigation Agency, The Lion’s Share: South Africa’s Trade Exacerbates Demand for Tiger Parts and Derivatives 27 (2018), available at https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Lions-Share-FINAL-1.pdf, and Born Free, supra note 33, at 29.

[43] Ross Harvey, Ruling that lion skeleton export quotas are illegal is a victory for ethical conservation, Daily Maverick (Aug. 7, 2019), https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-08-07-ruling-that-lion-skeleton-export-quotas-are-illegal-is-a-victory-for-ethical-conservation/.

[44] Id.

[45] Id. The ruling primarily addressed the welfare of captive lions.