In the last two decades, the demand for cashmere almost tripled. UK was one of the top importer of cashmere, which was a multi-million dollar industry. Most of these exports came from China and Mongolia. This demand also drove an increase in domestic cashmere goats in Central Asia.
The authors of a paper published in Conservation Biology said that the goats were becoming a threat to endangered snow leopards. A decline in wild prey due to their presence led snow leopards to hunt them instead. Consequently, "retaliatory killings" were now increasing as owners of herds tried to protect the goats, said the authors.
"Cashmere production is a complicated human issue. Understandably, indigenous herders are trying to improve their livelihoods, but the short-term economic gain is harming the local ecosystem," said co-author Charudutt Mishra. "We want to address everyone's concerns and develop a programme where we can make grazing more sustainable, and that allows for wild and domestic animals to co-exist," Mishra added.
Other endangered animals were also at risk. These included the Tibetan chiru, the Himalayan bharal, and the antelope.
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