of alternative pollinators

Congress, do your job

They are issuing the report now "to ramp up the pressure and show the public the true nature of the giraffe trade in the U.S., and show the administration that the public loves giraffes and really wants their government to take action to protect this animal," said Adam Peyman, manager of wildlife programs and operations for the Humane Society International.

In 2016, a study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources determined that the worldwide giraffe population had plummeted from 150,000 to 100,000 since 1985. Giraffes face two main threats, the report found: habitat loss and poaching by locals in search of bushmeat.

Trophy hunting seems to be the primary source of the animals arriving in the United States, but isn'tto be sold off by the outfitter who arranged the hunt.

The Safari Club International, which promotes hunters' rights and wildlife conservation, said in a statement that "despite the rhetoric in the media, legal regulated hunting is one of the most effective means of conservation." The statement also referenced the same 2016 IUCN study to argue that giraffe populations are healthier in nations like Angola where there is legal hunting; and have declined precipitously in Kenya where hunting is illegal.

There is little solid data on the number of sales of giraffe parts in the United States, but the Humane Society obtained U.S. Fish and Wildlife data showing that there were nearly 40,000 giraffe products legally imported to the United States from 2006 to 2015.

The market for giraffe products, Mr.