Chinese stock breeding experts are hoping to breed a substitute for Tibetan antelope to satisfy the demand for the fine wool of the endangered animal.

Experts with the agriculture academy of the Tibet Autonomous Region have worked for some 10 years on selective breeding of white fur goats, a rare breed of goat in Rutog County of Ngari Prefecture, one of the major habitats of Tibetan antelope, said Lu Riqing, secretary of the county's Communist Party committee, who is also in charge of the experimental programme.

While Tibetan antelope supposedly boast the finest wool of any wild animal, the Rutog white goats, also known as Kashmir white goats, have the finest and purest wool of domestic goats.

The wool of the Tibetan antelope is commonly between 7 and 9 microns in fineness, while the wool of the Rutog white goat, a breed under state protection, is between 9 and 13 microns.

As the two breeds of animals both live in extremely cold areas above 4,500 metres on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, often referred to as the "roof of the world,'' and have similar feeding habits, it is natural that they both have fine wool, said Zhao Haoxin, an expert with the regional agriculture academy.

It is said that shawl made from the wool of Tibetan antelope -- known as shahtoosh and admired by European nobles and rich people from ancient times -- can be pulled through a finger ring.

Because of the extremely high prices paid for shatoosh, the Tibetan antelope was long the victim of rampant poaching, which once put the rare animal under the threat of extinction.

Their numbers have been rising in recent years, however, thanks to the efforts of government at all levels in cracking down on the poaching and establishing nature preserves on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Lu said.

Attacking the problem from another approach, Lu said, stock breeding experts also examined the possibility of finding a substitute for Tibetan antelope as an alternative method to stop the poaching.

Environmentalists say the development of the Rutog white goat industry and the substitution of its wool for shahtoosh can help save more Tibetan antelope from poachers.

Using wool of the improved breed of the white goats, Rutog County and a woolen product business in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Ordos Cashmere Product Company Ltd, have developed a new line of cashmere sweaters, which are 50 per cent lighter and warmer than other products of the same thickness, Lu said.

If possible, Lu said, a DNA test will be conducted to check if the white goats and Tibetan antelope are genetically connected, and stock breeding experts might conduct cross-breeding experiments with the two breeds of animals.

Yexe Doje, an expert with the stock breeding institute of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said it is possible that a substitute for Tibetan antelope may be found through cross-breeding.

The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Science and Technology have set the cross-breeding experiment as a key research programme, said Yexe Doje.

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