When you buy a skin handbag, ivory carving, or “medicinal”
product (such as a rhinoceros horn), you may be threatening
the survival of a species.
Disappearance of species
Buying some animal products contributes to a business that threatens many animals in
the wild. Most reptile, bird, and mammal products come
from animals taken from the wild. Eventually, unregulated
collecting can cause animal populations to decline to the
point of extinction. According to the Humane Society of the United States,
the wildlife trade has affected 40 percent of endangered and threatened vertebrates.
Against the law
In addition to contributing to the decline of a species,
you may be breaking the law when you buy an illegally obtained
product, probably without even realizing it. Signed by more than 160 countries, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an agreement to restrict trade of more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, including live and dead specimens (such as marmosets) and parts (such as ivory). TRAFFIC, a wildlife monitoring network, was founded by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and IUCN, the World Conservation Union, to help implement CITES.
It is illegal to
bring products made from threatened and endangered animals
into the United States. Being aware of this fact when traveling
in foreign countries where the laws may differ is helpful.
In particular, watch out for products made of turtle shell,
caiman or crocodile skin, ivory or bird feathers. See 
WWF's Buyer Beware information.
Sharks and bears
Inhumane methods—such as snares, traps, and poisoning—are often used to capture and kill wild animals for their parts. Sometimes, body parts are removed before the animal is dead. In the practice of "finning," now banned by the European Union, a shark's fin is hacked off from the living shark, and the animal is returned to the ocean to die. The IUCN Shark Specialist Group says that tens of millions of sharks are killed by finning, threatening the survival of rare and vulnerable shark species. Thousands of bears in China are kept in cages so that their bile can be removed and sold as traditional medicine.
Does buying an animal product in the United States ensure that I avoid the problem of the illegal animal trade? Probably not. Many animal products commonly sold in this country were smuggled to “middlemen” countries and “laundered” (made technically legal) before they arrive.
It can be hard for consumers to tell legal skins from illegal
ones. Your best bet? Don’t
buy products made from any exotic animals: no belts, shoes,
watch bands, carvings, hats, trinkets, jewelry, coats.
