In spite of efforts by China and the world at large in protecting Tibetan antelopes, the rampant poaching of the rare species, still occurs in conservation zones in China's Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

Since June 2005, Swiss customhouse has seized a total of 537 pieces of shahtoosh shawls, which means 1,600 and 2,700 Tibetan antelopes have been poached, Xinhua learned Wednesday from an international conference in this Xinjiang's capital city of Urumqi.

According to figures released by the China Wildlife Conservation Association, more than 100 Tibetan antelopes were culled in April and August this year alone.

"The problem of rampant poaching on Tibetan antelope is remains serious." said Li Qingwen, deputy secretary-general of the association.

Since the 1990s, the robust demand for shahtoosh shawls in the Western fashion world and sharp decrease of this fast-running wildlife existing only in highlands have drawn the world's attention.

China has since trained special police for protection of the wildlife at the areas more than 4,000 meters above the sea level, but illegal poachers seem to have spend much more on their equipment and manpower.

Countries like India, Nepal, Britain, France, Italy, Spain and the United States have actively clamped down the underground Tibetan antelope skin trade, which creates a positive overseas environment for protection of the endangered species.

But the head-counting of all the Tibetan antelopes has been be difficult due to the vastness of conservation areas in Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet, which also means hard for their protection.

Currently, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet have scheduled to jointly conduct a thorough inspection in 2006, Li said.

The Tibetan antelope, an endangered wildlife species at the top of China's protection list, is native to the grasslands of China's Qinghai, Xinjiang and Tibet, which have the world's major Tibetan antelope habitats.

The population of the species shrank sharply last century, mainly due to rampant poaching and the environment degeneration. International traffickers to make shahtoosh shawls, a luxury item that uses the fur of three to five Tibetan antelopes to make just one.

In the past 25 years since 1979, the Tibetan antelope has been recognized as an endangered species and protected under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Since 1989, the species has been listed as Class-A of protected animal species in China's Wildlife Protection Law.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2005)