Stop the Hunt and Save the Giraffe From Extinction

Please sign and share this petition in an effort to demand that Tanzania, the East and Central African Governments and the Giraffe Conservation Foundation all work together in finding resolutions that will stop the endangerment of giraffes. The lack of attention from these governments, along with loss of habitat and poaching for their meat, skin and other body parts. This is such a beautiful, graceful animal and we need to save them from extinction!

A documented news report in the past couple of weeks has stated that the population of giraffes are dropping by an alarming 40 percent throughout their natural habitat. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) noted these changes in the past 15 years and the numbers are continually dropping. Some call it the "silent extinction" due to a lack of public awareness. Most focus is and was on the African elephants, gorillas and rhinos without any notice of the endangered giraffe. GCF describes the giraffe as a forgotten large animal that is declining right before our eyes. They state that the giraffe is not getting the well-deserved attention they deserve.

Reports are that habitat destruction by humans along with intense hunting, especially in Tanzania, is a major cause for the decline of the giraffe population. Those in this country hunt these beautiful graceful creatures for their durable, patterned skin and the brains and bone marrow which these people believe is a cure for HIV. GCF, based in Namibia, states that along with hunting and poaching of the giraffe, and the loss of habitat, other issues include human population growth and habitat fragmentation/degradation. The West African or Nigerian giraffe is among the most endangered species. Their numbers over the past few years has declined from 140,000 to 80,000. East and Central Africa is highly affected due to poaching.

A news former reporter, Ms. Sherr, now working for GCF is quoted as saying “The threat today is civilization, which has been encroaching on their territory for decades. Slaughter of their bodies for items better purchased in the pharmacy or elsewhere has also increased. It is more than wasteful. It is the thoughtless destruction of a precious and unique creature that harms no living being."

Another spokesman Muller that works for the Rothschild Giraffe Project states further that “It is believed in Tanzania that giraffe brains and bone marrow can cure HIV-AIDS victims, freshly severed heads and giraffe bones can fetch prices of up to $140 per piece. In rural African communities, bush meat not only forms a large part of the diet but also provides an important source of income. Killing a giraffe involves relatively little effort for the amount of meat yielded as a large quarry can be secured with a single gun-shot."

Both the Rothschild Giraffe Project and the GCF are looking for our help by encouraging the governments in Africa, especially in East and Central Africa to intervene with plans that will help to restore the giraffe population. You can help to save this gorgeous, beautiful and graceful animal by signing and sharing this petition worldwide on all possible media sites. Your help is greatly needed and appreciated. I cannot even imagine the loss of the giraffe from our world.