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As we reported yesterday, biodiversity is declining at a precipitous rate, according to a new report by scientists from across the globe produced for the United Nations. In an effort to save one of the most iconic species on the planet — the African giraffe — the Fish and Wildlife Service at the Department of Interior is considering listing them on the nation’s endangered species list, which would mean restrictions on their importation into the United States and would also make available small amounts of federal funding for giraffe conservation efforts. As a case study of the greater problem, the giraffe’s plight is telling. Numerous U.S. environmental groups, including The Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International and International Fund for Animal Welfare, petitioned the Trump Administration for the listing, and it has taken two years for the Administration to near a decision, meanwhile giraffes grow closer to extinction.
How much could the US endangered species listing help? A good deal. According to the groups’ petition, U.S. trade in giraffes is significant — between 2006 and 2015, 39,516 giraffe specimens, including dead and live animals, as well as their parts or derivatives, were imported into the United States, including 21,402 bone carvings, 3,008 skin pieces, and 3,744 hunting trophies.
Why This Matters: Human activity is causing a biodiversity loss crisis of massive proportions — and we need to turn the tide because our very existence depends on it. The plight of the giraffe is tragic, but as a symbol of the overall problem, it can play an important role in raising public awareness. Not to mention, that we here in the U.S. are a big part of the problem by fueling trade in this beautiful animal. So listing the giraffe as an endangered species in the U.S. is both a significant symbolic gesture to educate the public and important to demonstrate the U.S. as being a responsible steward of the planet.
by Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer As the world warms, it’s not just people who are feeling the heat. Bats are also susceptible to extreme heat, and overheated bat boxes can be “a death trap,” the Guardian reports. In the wild, bats move between rock and tree crevices in search of a perfectly moderated temperature. […]
by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer A new report entitled The World’s Forgotten Fishes from the World Wildlife Fund has found that there has been a “catastrophic” decline in freshwater fish, with nearly a third of all freshwater fish species coming perilously close to extinction. The statistics paint a sobering picture: 26% of all critically […]
by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer Move over Dolly, there’s a new clone in town and her name is Elizabeth Ann the Black-Footed ferret. You read that right; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced on Thursday that it had successfully cloned the first U.S. endangered species. Elizabeth Ann was born on December 10, […]
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