Commercial Trade of Wildlife - The Fur, Feathers, And Leather Trade

Numerous wild animal species are hunted for their fur pelts or leather hides. These are used to make coats, hats, shoes, gloves, belts, purses, and other accessories. This has led to the near extermination of mammals and reptiles such as minks, foxes, beavers, seals, alligators and crocodiles, chinchillas, otters, and wild cats. Birds were once hunted for fashion as well—species of egrets, herons, spoonbills, and songbirds were slaughtered by the thousands to supply plumes for women's hats during the nineteenth century.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, the fur industry turned increasingly to domestically raised animals, not because of environmental concerns but because they found it too economically risky to leave the acquisition of pelts to chance. Fur farms opened on Prince Edward Island in Canada in 1887 and quickly spread across the country. At their height, there were well over 10,000 fur farms. By 1939, however, rising costs, the loss of European markets, and changes in fashion reduced fur demand. Canadian fur farms were reduced to less than 2,000 primarily mink farms by the middle of the twentieth century. In August 1998 animal rights activists in England, unhappy with fur farm practices, released thousands of minks from cages. The minks escaped into the district of New Forest, where they wrought havoc on natural habitats and attacked chicken farms. Many were eventually trapped and killed.

In 2000 the world market for shahtoosh, the wool of the Tibetan chiru antelope, came under scrutiny by both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Measures were adopted at the CITES meeting in Nairobi, Kenya that year to reduce chiru poaching. The Fish and Wildlife Service also proposed listing the chiru as an endangered species, but this is still pending in 2004. The chiru is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

Crocodilian Leathers

Among the most biologically costly of fashion trends is the use of reptilian hide for leather shoes, belts, wallets, and other accessories. High fashion has never tired of the look and feel of tanned crocodilian leather, with alligator skin the most popular of all reptile hides. Louisiana's FIGURE 10.1
The argalis is prized by hunters for its massive horns. (Corbis Corporation) Department of Agriculture estimates that 90 percent of alligator hide originates in the United States, particularly from the bayou regions of Louisiana. Finished products are costly, with alligator purses selling for $200–$1,000 apiece.

Largely because of the demand of European designers for alligator hide, the American alligator was first listed as an endangered species in 1967. It was reclassified as threatened in the 1970s as populations recovered in response to conservation efforts. The American alligator was finally delisted in 1987. As a result of their one time endangerment, Fish and Wildlife representatives continue to monitor alligator egg harvesting and hunting, particularly in Louisiana.

Huia Birds—Plucked to Extinction

Unlike American alligators, which were brought back from endangerment, the fate of the Huia bird was more tragic. The beautiful Huia, native to New Zealand, was hunted to extinction during the 1920s, primarily because of demand for adornments made from its luxurious feathers. The species was characterized by black plumes with striking white tips. In addition, Huia feathers figured prominently in the native Maori culture of New Zealand, and Maoris hunted the species as well. The Huia was declared extinct in 1930.