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Coaching to stop the poaching

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI MARCH 5. For students at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) the class was somewhat different today for they were being educated about "Shahtoosh: Facts and Fictions''.

In an effort to educate the young designers about the international campaign to save the endangered Tibetan antelope, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) spoke to students about the law against the use and trade of Shahtoosh and about the alternatives that are available.

Speaking at the seminar today, Deputy Director, Wildlife and Habitat Programme International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Grace Gabriel, said: "It is really the future designers and consumers who will stop the market for Shahtoosh. The animal has been poached to only 70,000 today and are killed at the rate of 20,000 animals per year. The market pressure refuses to let the demand for the animal to die in the national and international trade is illegal.''

A survey conducted by the WTI and IFAW has revealed that the market for the shawl is far from over and that people engaged in the trade risk everything to remain in the profession.

This is because the laws are not enforced effectively. To educate people about the illegal sale, workshop are also being organised worldwide ad efforts are being made to change the consumer and users attitude especially in Delhi, Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris.

``Though families involved in Shahtoosh shawl making have been hit hard because of the ban we are trying to provide them an alternative through promotion of Pashmina shawls, '' said Director, Programmes WTI, Aniruddha Mookerjee, who also spoke about the trade in the country and the spread of this illegal market. He added that "though the sale of Shahtoosh has come down because of the ban, a market is still there for these products which needs to be killed.''

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