Is owning a Burchell Zebra hide legal? Absolutely.
Burchell Zebra have been legally traded and sold in the United States for decades. There are some species that are not legally sold (Mountain Zebra, for example) but we would never, ever sell something we don't personally know the sourcing of. To be frank, it would be worse for us than it would be for you, so we hope you can trust us on that. Still, we understand your concerns and believe in source-checking, which is why we are available to answer any of your questions over the phone (and why we provide as much information as possible right here on our website). The bottom line is that we are very careful with our sourcing practices, and we are able to provide all the paperwork for international travel, including certification of sourcing and tanning.
Delving further into it, you'll find that the Quaggas Burchelli Zebra Species (the only ones we sell) are not on any CITES list or under any restriction, so all of the paperwork is really just for peace of mind. But if you needed any more convincing, these hides are already within the United States, having gone through customs already. So, you can rest assured that these products are properly sourced, treated, and ready for your home.
Can owning a zebra hide be ethical? We believe so.
While the topic is controversial, hunting and conservation have long been linked. Back in 2016, National Geographic's Article "Culling: A Hard Truth for Lion Conservation" delves into the issue deeply. While the topic then was Lions, the case is the same across the African animal spectrum: if a population is growing too large for the environment its in, it is incredibly destructive to let it go unchecked.
What happens in cases where the Zebra population of a certain reserve grows too large for their environment? The Zebra will do damage to their own herd, to nearly all of the other species on the reserve, and ultimately to the very ecological make- up of the reserve itself. This necessitates culling, and that's where our Professional Hunting partners come in.
Culling is a management tool that conservationists use for an incredibly wide range of species. Wildlife managers have an entire ecosystem full of animals to preserve, and use all of the techniques they have at their disposal to keep populations and the delicate balance of each ecosystem in check. Culling is only one of the many management tools conservationists use, but it is a necessary one, and our partnership with professional hunters and conservation groups works toward that balance.
All of our zebra hides come from African Game Reserve culling requirements, carried out by members of a Professional Hunter's organization who's creed is "Sustainable Hunting." How does this pertain to your Zebra hide specifically? The Quaggas Burchelli species of Zebra (as I mentioned already, 100% of our hides are Burchell Zebra) are quite common in South Africa, and incredibly popular among game reserve owners and operators. So the vast majority of game reserves in South Africa have Zebra, but the same cannot be said of natural predators. In fact, most game reserves in Africa don't have predators like Lion, Cheetah, or Hyena that would naturally keep wildlife populations in check. Think about public and privately-owned reserves in the United States: most protected areas (and especially privately-owned ones) no longer have wild Wolves or dangerous Grizzly Bears roaming where they might stumble across a group on a Girls Scouts of America trip. Add to that the fact that Zebra are, in fact, a strong and at times violent species, and you have a recipe for disaster when their populations grow too large.
Please feel free to read more about the relationship between hunting and conservation at the below links, from National Geographic, PERC, and the CIC (the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation):
https://www.perc.org/2019/07/18/the-role-of-hunting-in-conserving-african-wildlife/
https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2016/02/25/culling-to-conserve-a-hard-truth-for-lion-conservation/
http://www.cic-wildlife.org/2019/06/11/why-minimal-effect-maximum-cost-trophy-hunting-can-aid-conservation-in-africa-11-june-2019/