Criminology and Psychology

major smuggling ring involved in the illegal trade of shahtoosh wool captured, which is only obtained by killing the endangered Tibetan Antelope. During a raid on three Bangkok stores located in a high-end tourist area, police seized over 250 purported shahtoosh shawls which are well known in the fashion world for their exceptional quality. A single shawl requires wool from three to five dead antelopes. If all of the shawls prove to be genuine following forensic tests, the haul could represent over 1,000 Tibetan Antelopes that were killed for their wool, with a retail value of several million dollars.Unlike other wools that can be harvested by shearing or combing, shahtoosh, which means "the king of wools" can only be obtained by killing Tibetan Antelopes (Pantholops hodgsonii, or commonly known as the Chiru), which live almost exclusively in the remote Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Poaching has drastically slashed the Tibetan Antelope population because shahtoosh shawls can comma...