eBay has recently announced that they will institute a global ban on the sale of elephant ivory products by January 2009. eBay’s decision was announced just hours before the release of International Fund for Animal Welfare’s (IFAW) 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, 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 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.
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.
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.
“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.”
Every year, more than 20,000 elephants are illegally slaughtered in Africa and Asia to meet demand for ivory products.
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.
Link: http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw_international/
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