‘Silent extinction’: Cites wildlife summit agrees to giraffe protections
Nations back first restrictions on global trade in parts, as well as ban on saiga antelope horn
The world’s tallest animal has gained further protections after the world’s nations voted to end the unregulated international trade in giraffe parts.
There are fewer giraffes alive than elephants and their population has plunged by 40% since 1985 to just 97,500. Scientists have called it a “silent extinction”. However, the bitter debate at the 183-nation summit of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) exposed anorth-south divide in Africa.