herds UNFAIR GAME? Chirus used to travel of 20,000. Now they are facing extinction chirus, an endangered antelope thatresides on the Tibetan plateau An estimated three ehirus are killed for each shawl. Most experts believe that only 50,000 to 70,000 chirus remain, down from well over a million earlier this century. In 1975 a U.N. convention forbade all trade in the species. But that hasn't stopped the killing of thousands in recent years. Poachers armed with semiautomatics hunt the ani- mal year-round, and not just when the chirus' coats are thickest. Despite the threat of seven years in jail or a $130 fine, poachers continue to pursue their prey The wool is smuggled to and woven in Kashmir, an Indian state that does not abide by the U.N. treaty. Shahtooshes have been the raiment of the élite there cen- turies, presented to brides-to-be in wealthy Indian families. And in France, Napoleon is said to have given one to Joséphine, who was so enthralled that she bought 400 more, The West didn't fully embrace shah tooshes until the 1980s, when fur wenl out and designers began dying the shawls in appealing colors. Before long, Park Av enue were selling them and Donna Karan was confiding to British Vogue that a shahtoosh was her security blanket. (Both she and Brinkley have since renounced shahtooshes.) Any woman who wears a shahtoosh should be deeply embarrassed," say George Schaller, renowned biologist who has called attention to the plight of the chirus. "It's motashawl it's a shroud. Shame might not stop the trade, but this will: the current rate of poaching, the species likely to be extinct within 20 years. reporting by Ruth Chan/Beijing and Terry McCarthy Shanghai