For Immediate Release:
October 8, 1996
Mahogany Crisis Ignored;
Thomasville Keeps Cutting
Thomasville, NC- After a month of waiting, rainforest activists finally met
with executives from Thomasville Furniture today. The meeting was initiated
by a 12 mile march EarthCulture led to the front steps of Thomasville in
September. EarthCulture's Brendan Gannon said, "We felt confident
Thomasville would take the lead in stopping their mahogany usage, but we
were terribly disappointed."
Latin American Mahogany is becoming endangered, and because it is so rare,
pirate loggers have routinely invaded indigenous and wildlife reserves,
sometimes killing those who stand in their way. At least eight Brazilian
tribes have had people murdered at the hands of mahogany loggers. Violence
and stolen lumber is even more rampant. In 1995, 100,000 cubic meters of
mahogany was illegally exported from Brazil- this is more than was legally
exported.
Though Thomasville maintains that they are one of a few companies who only
purchase mahogany from legal channels, their main supplier, Dan K.
Moore, frequently does business with illegal operations. Chuck Gordon,
Thomasville's Senior Vice-President told activists they "would agree that
indigenous lands are been invaded," but, "We will keep using mahogany until
consumers stop buying it, or the Brazilian government tells us we
can't."
That is just what Brazil is saying, however, in a recent moratorium on new
mahogany logging concessions. "The international community sees that
mahogany logging will lead to extinction of the species, continued
violence, and destruction of the Amazon. US furniture companies are still
holding on while they can, but mahogany logging will end soon due to public
pressure and boycotts," says Rick Spencer, EarthCulture's Programs
Director.
Activists from around the country are working to get the mahogany trade
virtually stopped by getting it listed on Appendix II of the Convention on
the International Trade in Endengered Species (CITES). "If companies like
Thomasville won't voluntarily stop using mahogany, it's up to consumers to
make them stop," said Gannon. "If mahogany is listed under CITES, they
won't have a choice."
# # #
(
geocities.com/rainforest)