Giraffes a tentative step closer toward federal protections
Source: Associated Press
Giraffes a tentative step closer toward federal protections
By MICHAEL BIESECKER
April 25, 2019
WASHINGTON (AP) — Years after international watchdogs began warning that giraffes are sliding toward a silent extinction, the Trump administration is taking the first tentative steps toward protecting the world’s tallest land animal under the Endangered Species Act.
The move, which advocates say is long overdue, came after legal pressure from environmental groups.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that its initial review has determined there is “substantial information that listing may be warranted” for giraffes. The finding, to be published in the Federal Register, will begin a more in-depth review and public comment process that could lead to import restrictions on hunting trophies and body parts from giraffes, including hides and bones.
The giraffe population in Africa has declined by about 40 percent in the past three decades, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
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