(CH)Tibetan antelopes may have scapegoats

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2003-11/08/content_1167604.htm

 

& #12288; & #12288;LHASA, Nov. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese

stock breeding experts are hoping to breed a

substitute for Tibetan antelopes to satisfy the demand

for the fine wool of the endangered animal.

 

& #12288; & #12288;Experts with the agriculture academy

of the Tibet Autonomous Region have worked for some 10

years on selective breeding of white fur goats, a rare

breed of goat in Rutog county of Ngari Prefecture, one

of the major habitats of Tibetan antelopes, said Lu

Riqing, secretary of the county's Communist Party

committee whois also in charge of the experimental

program.

 

& #12288; & #12288;While Tibetan antelopes supposedly

boast the finest wool of anywild animal, the Rutog

white goats, also known as Kashmir white goats, have

the finest and purest wool of domestic goats.

 

& #12288; & #12288;The wool of Tibetan antelopes is

commonly between 7 and 9 microns in fineness, while

Rutog white goat wool, a stock breed under state

protection, is between 9 and 13 microns.

 

& #12288; & #12288;As the two animals on the

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, dubbed the " roof of the world " ,

both live in extremely cold areas above 4,500 meters

and have similar feeding habits, it is natural that

they both have fine wool, Zhao Haoxin, an expert with

the regional agriculture academy, said.

 

& #12288; & #12288;A shawl made from wool of Tibetan

antelopes, which is called Shahtoosh, admired by

European nobles and rich people from ancient times, is

said to be able to pass through a finger ring.

 

& #12288; & #12288;The lure of high prices, at hundreds

of thousands of US dollars, triggered rampant poaching

of Tibetan antelopes, which once put the rare animal

under the threat of extinction.

 

& #12288; & #12288;The numbers of the rare animal have

been rising in recent yearsthanks to the efforts of

governments at all levels in cracking down on the

poaching and establishing nature preserves on the

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Lu said.

 

& #12288; & #12288;At the same time, Lu said, stock

breeding experts also hope to find a substitute for

Tibetan antelopes as another effort to stop poaching.

 

& #12288; & #12288;Environmentalists said the development

of the Rutog white goat industry and the substitution

plan can help save more Tibetan antelopes from

poaching.

 

& #12288; & #12288;Using wool of the improved breed of

the white goats, Rutog county and a woolen product

business in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the

Ordos Cashmere Product Co., Ltd., have developed new

cashmere sweaters, which are 50 percent lighter and

warmer than other products of the same thickness, Lu

said.

 

& #12288; & #12288;If possible, Lu said, a DNA test will

be conducted to check if the white goats and Tibetan

antelopes are genetically connected and stock breeding

experts might conduct hybridization experiments

between the two animals.

 

& #12288; & #12288;Yexe Doje, an expert with the stock

breeding institute of the autonomous region, said it

is possible that a substitute for Tibetan antelopes

may be found through hybridization.

 

& #12288; & #12288;The Ministry of Agriculture and the

Ministry of Science and Technology have set the

hybridization experiment as a key research program,

said Yexe Doje. Enditem

 

 

 

 

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