https://www.fws.gov/press-rele...cies-act-protections



Press Release
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Endangered Species Act Protections for Giraffes
Nov 20, 2024
Media Contacts
Christine Schuldheisz



WASHINGTON - In response to declining giraffe populations caused by poaching, habitat loss and climate change , the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing federal protections for several giraffe species. After reviewing the best available scientific and commercial information, the Service proposes listing all three subspecies of northern giraffe from west, central and east Africa as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Service also proposes listing two giraffe species from east Africa as threatened with tailored protections through a 4(d) rule.

The Service proposes the following listings:

West African, Kordofan and Nubian giraffes as endangered.
Reticulated giraffe as threatened with a 4(d) rule.
Masai giraffe as threatened with a 4(d) rule.
The Service also finds that both subspecies of southern giraffe (Angolan and South African) are not warranted for listing under the ESA. However, given their similarity of appearance to other giraffe species, the Service proposes to treat the southern giraffe subspecies as threatened with a 4(d) rule.

“Federal protections for giraffes will help protect a vulnerable species, foster biodiversity, support ecosystem health, combat wildlife trafficking, and promote sustainable economic practices,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams. “This action supports giraffe conservation while ensuring the United States does not contribute further to their decline.”

The proposed rule, if finalized, will benefit giraffes by:

Reducing illegal hunting and trade of giraffes by requiring permits for import into the U.S.
Increasing funding for species conservation in its range countries, research efforts to address conservation needs and U.S. and global awareness about the decline in giraffes.
Providing limited financial assistance to develop and manage programs to conserve giraffes.
The primary threats to giraffes include human population growth; habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation due to urbanization; poaching; and impacts of drought from climate change that increase human-wildlife conflicts. Giraffes are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora primarily because their populations are vulnerable to threats from habitat loss, illegal hunting, and the international trade of giraffe parts. While trade is not the primary cause of the decline of wild giraffe populations, trade may have an additive effect when combined with the main causes of habitat loss and poaching. Giraffes are valued for their hair, tails, and use in traditional medicine, but in recent years they have been increasingly targeted by hunters and poachers for bushmeat.

The population for the three subspecies of northern giraffe has declined approximately 77% since 1985, from 25,653 to 5,919 individuals, and the species has been extirpated from numerous countries in west Africa. Only 690 West African giraffes remain.

The reticulated giraffe population is estimated at 15,985 individuals, with 99% found in Kenya. The Masai giraffe population is around 45,402, roughly 67% of its numbers from the 1970s.

Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Giraffes’ primary activity is feeding, and they consume a variety of leaves, stems, flowers and fruits. Giraffes are versatile and have adapted to a variety of habitats, ranging from desert landscapes to woodland and savanna ecosystems, forming a wide arc across sub-Saharan Africa, covering west, central, east and southern Africa. Giraffes are most often found in savanna and woodland habitats and always near trees or bushes. Northern, reticulated, Masai and southern giraffes occur in multiple countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The proposed rule will publish in the Federal Register on Nov. 21, 2024, and be open for public comment for 90 days. The Service will review and consider all comments received by Feb. 19, 2025, before publishing a final rule. Please go to www.regulations.gov, docket no.FWS-HQ-ES-2024-0157.

This doesn't make sense (nothing new there).
As they state Angolan and South African giraffes aren't threathened. And none of the others can be hunted as far as I know. You can't hunt giraffes in Tanzania or Zambia (has both South African or Angolan in Sioma Ngwezi, and Maasai in Luangwa, the latter often referred to as Thornicroft's). Can you hunt them anywhere were reticulated, West African, Kordofan or Nubian occur? Are any giraffe skins or products being imported now from countries where you can't hunt them? Why not require permits for importation from countries where you can't legally hunt them, and no permits from countries where you can legally hunt them and populations are doing fine (as determined by this work already)?
So permit required from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, where you can hunt them and populations are increasing, and permits required from Zambia, Tanzania where you can't hunt them. And ban importation from countries where they are threathened like Niger, Chad, DRC, CAF, Kenya etc, and you can't hunt them. When a country allows the hunting of giraffe, then look at it to open importation, and in favourable way. Why deny a country to export resources it wants to export?

BushPeter...why you ask?

Because the USFWS knows what is best.

I hope Gov. Doug Burgum will rein the USFWS once he is Interior Secretary. We certainly know that Deb Harland won't.

I remember attending a joint presentation by the USDA, FWS, and CBP at the 2024 SCI Convention. The FWS was the most bureaucratic. If in the the process of getting something approved the biologist doing the research moved or was promoted, then it started all over again. Their attitude was "ho hum".

I think Shakespeare's quote from his play Henry VI needs modification. It should read, ""The first thing we do, let's kill all the bureaucrats"

quote:

Originally posted by Skyline:
BushPeter...why you ask?

Because the USFWS knows what is best.

Seems to be an American thing, knowing what's best for the rest of the world.

quote:

Originally posted by BushPeter:

quote:

Originally posted by Skyline:
BushPeter...why you ask?

Because the USFWS knows what is best.

Seems to be an American thing, knowing what's best for the rest of the world.

Certain American bureaucrats even feel that way about other Americans.

We are trying to change that.

We shall see.

quote:

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the bureaucrats"

I like that. Being a lawyer, why wouldn't I?

All the giraffe populations are protected in their home range anyway and are not threatened by legal hunting......USFW

What does one expect from the US Fucking Wankers!

I generally hunt in Tanzania where giraffes are Royal Game and not on license. Can't imagine shooting one anyway. But I understand that they do in other places and it shouldn't be up to USFW to dictate to other countries what can and cannot be hunted. I think we all agree on that.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
I generally hunt in Tanzania where giraffes are Royal Game and not on license. Can't imagine shooting one anyway. But I understand that they do in other places and it shouldn't be up to USFW to dictate to other countries what can and cannot be hunted. I think we all agree on that.

When has it EVER stopped America dictating to the world what they think is best??