Indepth investigation by Roberto Jurkschat shows trophy hunters and luxury fashion brands have been working for years to influence the IUCN, the world’s leading authority on science and endangered species conservation Fred Bercovitch (left): One of the most renowned giraffe experts in the world and a member of the IUCN specialist group on giraffes and okapis. Photo: supplied Geneva – Giraffes may well tower over all other animals in the natural world — but in the wild, their numbers are rapidly dwindling, and they are desperately in need of protection. The giraffe population in Africa has collapsed by 40% over the last three decades, with climate change and agricultural expansion the main factors. In 2018, six African countries — the Central African Republic, Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger, and Senegal — joined together to sound the alarm about this stark decline. They believed there was another threat the animals faced: the international trade in giraffe trophies and body parts. You can, after all, buy giraffe heads as decorations for your home for around $9,000 online, or pay for a craftsperson to stretch the animals’ skin into custom furniture. Giraffe brains are used to make medicine, sold in some African countries as supposed remedies for AIDS. Representatives from the six African countries turned to a body they hoped would support their goals: the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), one of the world’s largest and most influential conservation organisations. They requested a scientific analysis of the situation from the IUCN, knowing a favourable expert opinion would greatly improve the chances of success of a joint motion to help protect giraffes from trophy hunters that they planned to submit to the organisers of the United Nation’s World Wildlife Conference. But several months later, the IUCN concluded that international trade in giraffe trophies did not present a decisive threat to the species. The IUCN is widely recognised as the global leader on species conservation. Its huge network of 15,000 experts advise national governments on what endangered species deserve protection, and its headline-grabbing Red List, published between every five and 10 years, is the world’s most comprehensive account of which species are most at risk of extinction. But investigation showed that trophy hunters and luxury fashion brands have been working for years to influence the IUCN, to expand the billion-dollar trade in endangered animal species. Trophy hunting is big business — in the past decade 1.7-million hunting trophies were traded worldwide, and according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, 200,000 of those are believed to have come from endangered species. Advocates defend trophy hunting as a way to fund conservation efforts that ultimately help the animals being hunted, even if they are already endangered. But critics say the benefits are exaggerated, and are a convenient argument to make for those people who simply want to kill wild animals for sport. Trophy hunting as an issue has been etched into the public consciousness since worldwide anger erupted over the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, by an American dentist who had a permit. Conflicts of interest within the IUCN have exposed the links that exist between IUCN member organisations and the trophy hunting and fashion industries. Some conservation experts have been shut out of the IUCN groups involved in the crucial decisions about which species should be classified as the most threatened. Cecil the lion: Trophy hunting as an issue has been etched into the public consciousness since worldwide anger erupted over the killing of Cecil by an American dentist who had a permit. Photo: courtesy WildCRU This investigation canvassed opinions from conservation experts worried about the influence trophy hunters have on IUCN policies; tracked flows of money from big game hunters to organisations with links to IUCN members; heard that experts were censured for speaking out against the leather trade; learned that efforts to support the protection of animals were suppressed by the IUCN; and has seen an email sent from the account of an IUCN member asking trophy hunting lobbyists and rhino breeders to publicly support China for expanding the trade on tiger and rhino parts. “IUCN is considered the world’s leading authority on science and species conservation, but when you look at the members who influence the organisation, you have to question whether this status is still justified,” said biologist Daniela Freyer of the German organisation Pro Wildlife. In response to the findings, the IUCN said its member organisations were screened before admission, and were required to report potential conflicts of interest.