eBay's Ban on Ivory Starts Today, But Will It Help?
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California on 01. 1.09
Photo via exfordy
Today is a happy day for elephants because eBay's ban on ivory sales begins today. We saw the ban pop up on the Hugg radar a few months ago and are interested to see what happens now that the rule is in effect.
From CNET:
The proliferation in the illegal trade of wildlife species has been aided by the use of the Internet. In a recent report (PDF), the International Fund for Animal Welfare found that about two-thirds of the global online trade in protected wildlife takes place on eBay's platform. The group said that poachers kill more than 2,000 elephants in Africa and Asia annually to meet demand for ivory products.
With many eyes upon them, and other countries similarly stepping up, we're hoping eBay's move will help in the effort to shut down illegal and unregulated ivory trading. However, there is a significant argument to the contrary. Slate.com notes that regulated online sales via sites like eBay would help elephant conservation efforts, and eBay's broad-stroke approach could hinder a market that could keep elephants and humans at peace with one another.
We'll have to wait and see how the effort plays out, and we're sure there's going to be a lot of tweaks to the rule as effects of the ban unveil themselves.
More on Wildlife Trade Crackdowns:
China Stepping Up to Halt Internet WIldlife Trade
CSI Wildlife Part Two: 2 Eco-Crimes Unmasked by DNA Forensics
India Sets Up Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
Concept LED Device Gives Air Quality Alerts
|
Canadian Duo Runs Marathon Daily for One Year to Raise Eco-Consciousness Among Students
|
I think that any effort by a major company to both assist in the conservation of elephants and highlight the problem is a huge plus.