A group of conservationists have launched an online campaign to petition Yahoo to stop selling elephant ivory and ivory products on its network.
The petition, which is available on Avaaz is calling on the company to stop making a killing from the trinket in Japan, a country which a recent report accused of fueling the trade in illegal ivory and undermining international efforts to protect Africa’s elephants. The report blames Japan for failing to crack down on illegal registration practices.
Several big brands like Google and Amazon have already refused to sell ivory and according to the petition, Yahoo is one of the few major online markets left.
Despite the huge efforts that have been put in place by my most countries to stop the sale of elephant ivory, most countries and companies have now turned online to conduct this illegal business.
A report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) published in 2014 highlighted how some sites sell elephant ivory with a survey of Japans’ Rakuten’s site producing thousands of ads for products made of elephant ivory. The EIA also named the Japanese firm Rakuten as the world’s biggest online retailer of elephant ivory carrying more than 28,000 advertisements for elephant ivory.
Ivory sales on Yahoo Japan are also exploding, growing from around $2 million in 2010 to $7 million in 2014. Yahoo Japan is separate from the global firm Yahoo, but the global company is its second largest shareholder, and has a massive say on policy.
‘’’With experts warning that elephants could be extinct in the wild in just one or two decades, there is no time to delay. If we raise the alarm about Yahoo’s involvement in the slaughter with employees and the media, CEO Mayer will be under pressure to follow other responsible companies and ban ivory from the site’’ The petition reads.
”As global citizens, we are appalled that you allow ivory to be sold on your site/platform, fuelling elephant extinction. Major brands like Google and Amazon now responsibly refuse to take part in this bloody trade. We call on you to urgently stop all ivory sales from sites/platforms in Japan and all other markets”
100 elephants are being massacred every day, and their emotional intelligence means they understand the horror of what is happening to them.
‘’Let’s raise a million voices to protect these majestic creatures’’
Avaaz will run an advertising blitz and target Yahoo employees worldwide to demand change from the inside.
The petition is available here.
