Nature Conservation-approved Exotic Leather Accessories
The recent international appetite for exotic leather and skin accessories has led to a revival of previous years of confusion and minor uproar from the environmentally-friendly against the fashion fundis.
Since French actress Brigitte Bardot donned the mantle of animal rights activist and raised awareness of the cruelty of wearing fur for fun, most environmentally correct observers have embraced the notion of faux instead of genuine and are quite appalled at the number of accessories and curios crafted out of the real deal.
Nature conservation too successful
The hard facts behind the growing market for leather and exotic skin products, like crocodile skin wallets, leopard skin shoes and ostrich skin handbags, is that nature conservation in South Africa has almost been too successful in its task.
Strict measures to regulate trophy hunting were introduced a couple of decades ago and animals like the African leopard and elephant, regarded as endangered, were added to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) list as vulnerable.
Leopard skins and other parts were considered highly desirable in the east and ivory remains one of the most sought after natural materials the world over. A concerted international ban was the only answer to stopping the wholesale slaughter of these glorious animals.
Twenty years on, the outlook for these very same animals has changed dramatically – and for the better. There has recently been a concerted move away from cattle farming to game farming, simply because farmers are finding it more lucrative.
Game farms create new habitats
Brand new habitats are being crafted out of areas that would normally only be suitable for cattle and with the proliferation of game like springbok, zebra and other ungulates in these new environments, it stands to reason that predators like leopard will also flourish.
At last count, there were in the region of 6, 000 game farms. If you add that to 67, 000km² of land under the auspices of nature conservation, then it stands to reason that the indigenous animal population is in a far better state than 100 years ago.
In an effort to conserve entire habitats, elephant culling has had to be re-introduced in certain areas, simply to control the numbers. As far as the leopard is concerned, each year in South Africa CITES issues 75 permits to trophy hunters and 50 hunting permits to farmers whose livestock is being damaged.
Wildlife population explosion
Both ostrich and crocodile, along with zebra, springbok, eland, kudu and a whole range of other animals, are now commercially farmed in South Africa, so the populations are on the up and up. To prevent the implosion of these vulnerable environments, some sort of population control has to be meted out and controlled hunting is the most efficient means.
It is these nature conservation-approved exotic skins and leather that are bought up by designers and hand crafted into the most appealing wares from belts to jackets to leather luggage. So before you take umbrage to the trendy lady holding tightly onto her genuine leopard skin handbag, remember it is all done in the name of nature conservation.
The Safari Club boasts a stunning range of products including exotic leather luggage, crocodile belts, ostrich handbags and zebra ottomans.