Shahtoosh, the lethal cost of luxury

And Razan would know, as was aware of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and their project on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). She knew that the UAE is a Contracting Party to the Convention. Knew that shahtoosh is derived from the highly endangered Tibetan antelope or chiru.

That this species has been given the highest level of protection under CITES, therefore its derivatives are banned from international trade and that the demand for shahtoosh shawls by the world's elite has left a trail of bloodshed.

At least 3 - 5 chiru die for a single shawl. The shopkeeper in Karama should not have been in possession of shahtoosh. Razan could report him to the authorities.

It is to protect chiru from the freezing cold and harsh, bitter winds on the lofty altitudes in Tibet that nature gifted it with a double layered fur coat: a coarse, visible one; and a short, fine-haired under layer, which hugs the animal's skin. The last has proven to be the antelope's undoing, as it provides shahtoosh, 'the king of wools' (in Persian).

Gossamer in weight and texture. Soft as a baby's skin, yet warm. Fibre so thin, it is but 1/6th of human hair; and a shawl so fine that it can be threaded through a ring! Shahtoosh shawls, woven by craftsmen in Indian Kashmir are prized as dowry items in northern India, and have been for centuries. But this level of demand hardly posed a threat to the chiru's survival.

What set the animal on the path to extinction has been its elevation from dowry treasure in India to a 'must have' accessory in world fashion centres since the 1980's. The burgeoning western market fueled a dramatic increase in poaching with chiru being hunted down in doves with the aid of sophisticated weapons.

Chiru may be extremely wary by nature, constantly on the alert, difficult to approach, and remarkable runners to boot. But they could hardly escape the organised hunting expeditions of poachers who gunned them down throughout the year and even at night, under beams of light, killing entire herds. By 1997 the blatantly illegal trade in shahtoosh had become rampant.

Chiru are skinned and raw pelt collected. It is then smuggled into India over the high mountain passes from Tibet or via Nepal. In the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir hair is plucked from pelts and shawls hand woven, after which they are illegally transported to fashion capitals in wealthy countries where they sell for $2000 to $15,000 or more depending on size and quality.

Shahtoosh shawls are doing to chiru what leopard skins did to the big cats and the ivory bracelet to elephants. Some 50 years ago there were upwards of a million chiru on the Tibetan Plateau. Today there are barely 65 - 75,000.

The Tibetan antelope has the most stringent legal protection there is to offer, whether international, national or local. It is listed in Appendix 1 of CITES (no commercial trade permitted) since 1979, as a Class 1 protected species in China (same category as the giant panda) and similar high levels of protection in Nepal, India as well as, in the state of Kashmir, where the prized shawls are manufactured.

Despite this, all is not well with the hapless chiru. Clandestine trade persists and it is possible to for the wealthy to buy shahtoosh in markets around the world whether it is Milan, Madrid, Paris, London, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo or Delhi. And, as Razan will verify, in the UAE too.

It is heartening that an international campaign is underway to save the chiru by stemming the illegal shahtoosh trade. But putting an end to trade cannot work without the support of consumers. "Don't believe shopkeepers if they tell you that shahtoosh, wool is gathered from trees and bushes that chiru have rubbed against. The fact is that the antelope must be killed for the garment. That is why chiru are on the verge of extinction," says the WWF.

Consumers can help save the chiru by
• not buying any shahtoosh products. This is against the law of the UAE and against the international treaty - CITES;

• discouraging others from buying or wearing shahtoosh by spreading the truth;

• reporting any suspected sightings or sales of shahtoosh to the UAE CITES Management Authority (Federal Environment Agency for Abu Dhabi and Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for the northern emirates;.

• buying and encouraging alternative products such as pashmina (combed from goats) and yak wool that do not require animals to be slaughtered;

• relinquishing any shahtoosh products in their possession (even samples are forbidden); and

• discouraging shahtoosh traders and buyers from indulging the demand.