It's a sad day for animal conservationists. Giraffes are about to join the endangered species list for the first time. In recent times, wild giraffe populations in Africa have experienced a steep decline.
It's gotten so bad that the U.S. government is stepping in. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it's proposing adding giraffes to the Endangered Species Act. It's the first time that the giraffes have ever been on the list. Right now, poachers are devastating the species, using their parts for rugs, shoes, and other items. The government wants to put a limitation on those items and stop the poaching of these animals.
From 1985 to 2015, the population fell from 150,000 to just 98,000. Other factors such as urbanization and climate change have also played a role in the giraffes' decline as well.
"Federal protections for giraffes will help protect a vulnerable species, foster biodiversity, support ecosystem health, combat wildlife trafficking, and promote sustainable economic practices," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in the statement. "This action supports giraffe conservation while ensuring the United States does not contribute further to their decline."
Giraffes Are Endangered
The proposal would be a first step to addressing the issue and hopefully preventing any further decline. It would place a stiff limit on the commercial market for giraffe products. It also aims to help protect giraffes globally as well. The Endangered Species proposal follows several years of animal conservationists ringing the alarm bells.
In 2017, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and others started lobbying for protection. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to act in a timely manner and essentially stonewalled the issue. This resulted in environmentalists filing a lawsuit against the organization in 2021.
It led to a settlement. The settlement resulted in the Fish and Wildlife Service pushing for giraffes to join the listing this year. However, the several-year delay has negatively impacted the species. Basically, things could have been less dire if the organization would have acted sooner. The organization is opening up its proposal to feedback until the beginning of the year.
