Finally eBay institutes ban on ivory trade

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---------- Forwarded message ----------

Sheren Shrestha <sheren

Oct 21, 2008 4:54 PM

Finally eBay institutes ban on ivory trade

shubhobrotoghosh

 

 

Hi Subroto,

 

The eBay has announced its decision to institute a ban on ivory trade

through its websites. This is a major victory for the International Fund for

Animal Welfare (IFAW), the partner of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), who has

been at the forefront fighting online trade. The pre-emptive announcement

from eBay came at a time when IFAW was readying for the launch of its report

" Killing with Keystrokes " planned for today. The report is an outcome of

IFAW's " six-week investigation that tracked more than 7,000 wildlife product

listings on 183 Web sites in 11 countries, singled out eBay as the largest

contributor to the problem, responsible for almost two-thirds of the online

trade in wildlife products worldwide. "

 

That the online trade in wildlife parts was ongoing in Indian territory

was proven in August, when the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force and WTI,

carried out an undercover operation in Meerut. Two traders, dealing in live

animals including schedule I birds, were arrested. The traders used social

networking sites such as orkut to find customers.

 

The ban on ivory trade by eBay is only a beginning. The IFAW

study concentrated on few Appendix I species and was limited temporally and

spatially. There could be many other sites, free or password

dependent, dealing in wildlife products of Appendix I or II species.

 

Please find the IFAW press release on the announcement by eBay pasted below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*eBay announces ivory ban in wake of IFAW report*

 

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*(San Francisco, CA – 20 October 2008*) – The International Fund for Animal

Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) applauds eBay's decision to institute a global

ban on the sale of elephant ivory products by 1 January 2009 and calls on

all other internet traders to follow their example.

 

 

 

eBay's decision was announced just hours before the release of IFAW's latest

investigative report showing Internet trade in wildlife poses a significant

and immediate threat to the survival of elephants and many other endangered

species.

 

 

 

The report, which followed a six-week investigation that tracked more than

7,000 wildlife product listings on 183 Web sites in 11 countries, singled

out eBay as the largest contributor to the problem, responsible for almost

two-thirds of the online trade in wildlife products worldwide

 

 

 

IFAW's report, *Killing with Keystrokes: An Investigation of the Illegal

Wildlife Trade on the World Wide Web*, will be released tomorrow and shows

that more than 70% of all endangered species' products listed for sale on

the Internet occur in the United States. The amount of trade tracked in the

U.S. was nearly 10 times the trade tracked in the next two leading

countries, the United Kingdom and China.

 

 

 

Elephant ivory dominated the investigation, comprising 73% of all product

listings tracked. Exotic birds were second, accounting for nearly 20% of the

listings tracked, but primates, big cats and other animals are also falling

victim to the e-trade in live animals and wildlife products, according to

the report.

 

 

 

" IFAW congratulates eBay on this very important step to protect elephants.

With these findings and eBay's leadership, there is no doubt left that all

Internet dealers need to take responsibility for their impact on endangered

species by enacting and enforcing a ban on all online wildlife trade. eBay

has set the standard for protecting elephants, now governments and other

online dealers need to follow their example, " said Barbara Cartwright, IFAW

Campaigns Manager.

 

 

 

Over 4,000 elephant ivory listings were uncovered during the investigation,

with most of the sales taking place on eBay's U.S. site. In one instance, a

user purchased a pair of elephant tusks off eBay for more than $21,000.

 

 

 

" With a few limited exceptions, selling ivory has been illegal since 1989, "

said Jeff Flocken, Director of IFAW's Washington D.C. office. " However, Web

sites are still teeming with ivory trinkets, bracelets, and even whole tusks

for sale. "

 

 

 

" Internet dealers profit off of every piece of elephant ivory sold on their

Web sites, and every piece of that ivory came from a dead elephant. "

 

 

 

International trade in wildlife is estimated to reach well into the billions

of US dollars annually – a black market rivaling the size of the

international trade in illegal drugs and weapons. Every year, more than

20,000 elephants are illegally slaughtered in Africa and Asia to meet demand

for ivory products. African and Asian elephants are protected under the U.S.

Endangered Species Act and the international Convention on the International

Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* *

 

*About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)*

 

Founded in 1969, IFAW works around the globe to protect animals and habitats

promoting practical solutions for animals and people. To learn how you can

help, please visit www.ifaw.org.

 

 

 

Regards,

--

Sheren Shrestha,

Assistant Programme Officer,

Wildife Trust of India,

B-13, Second Floor,

Sector-6, Noida-201301.

Ph No- (0120) 4143911/4143900

Mobile- 09990930530