While giraffe populations dwindle, products made from their skins and bones are flooding into the United States. The good news is that the U.S. government has agreed to consider giving giraffes Endangered Species Act protections, which would curb these imports and save countless giraffe lives. The bad news is that the decision deadline is all the way in 2024. We must encourage the U.S. agency to act quickly before the iconic species' numbers dwindle beyond recovery!
Sign the petition now to demand the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service list giraffes under the Endangered Species Act well before the November 2024 deadline!
Giraffes, like so many Savanna animals, have been at heightened risk in the past few decades. From poaching and habitat loss to climate change, the beloved long-necked mammals have had a dwindling population since the 1990s. Only 69,000 mature individuals remain in the wild – a whopping 40% reduction in the past three decades. And unfortunately, Americans have played a big role in those plummeting numbers.
The United States is a top importer and seller of giraffe parts, including heads, feet, tails, legs, and skins. This greed has led to rampant trophy hunting and poaching of giraffes all across sub-Saharan Africa. That means that it is the job of the United States, a country primarily responsible for giraffe trade and trafficking, to institute protections for the species before it is too late.
Conservationists and related organizations have been pushing to increase giraffe protections for years. In April 2017, the Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society International, and the Humane Society of the United States filed a petition to request giraffe protections, but the agency missed the legal deadline for a decision. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cannot continue to delay this decision, but instead must act quickly to protect all remaining giraffe lives, which are precious and still at high risk. Sign the petition now if you agree! 