Key Facts
- The Tibetan antelope inhabits primarily the remote plateaus of Tibet, Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces of China. Small populations are also found in parts of India.
- Tibetan antelope are killed solely for their pelts. Poachers gun down females in their calving grounds and leave the babies to die.
- Shahtoosh is Persian for "the king of wool" and is ultrafine with a softer feel than cashmere or angora. The wool is so fine the shawl can be passed through a finger ring.
- Tibetan antelope wool is smuggled through Nepal into Kashmir, where it is woven into shahtoosh shawls. These are then sold inside India and to other fashion outlets.
- The illegal trade is also linked to the trade in tiger parts. Traffickers bringing illegal tiger parts from India to China trade them for Tibetan antelope pelts or wool.
Tibetan antelope are protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which prohibits any trade in their products. They also have Class I protection status under China’s Wildlife Law and are protected by the Wildlife Protection Laws of India.
For the past two years female chiru have been killed in their calving grounds. In 1998, anti-poaching patrols found 800 female chiru, shot just after giving birth. Chinese police officers tried to save the newborn chiru with feeds of powdered milk.
