Animal rights activists petition eBay over illegal ivory sales

Tens of thousands of animal rights activists are pressuring eBay to cut down on illegal animal trafficking through its online auction site.

More than 90,000 people have signed a Care2 petition calling for eBay to stop the sales of items made from endangered species, such as elephant ivory, rhino horns, orangutan teeth and live exotic animals. 

“eBay prohibits the sale of items from endangered species on their site, yet a massive amount of these products manage to fall through the cracks, contributing to the poaching of species like elephants, tigers, and orangutans,” the petitioners wrote.

{mosads}Care2 pointed to a study by the International Fund for Animal Welfare that found 282 listings for products made with endangered species such as elephant ivory on sites like eBay. 

They are calling on eBay to implement stronger company-wide regulations to protect against poachers using their site.

This comes as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) cracks down on the trade of African elephant ivory and other endangered animals. Earlier this month, the agency issued an exemption to the rules for traveling musicians, many of whom use antique instruments that contain ivory. Outside of the music industry, the FWS still plans to enforce a strict ban on all sales of products containing elephant ivory.

But another group of animal activists petitioned the White House, saying that the FWS rules aren’t strong enough to protect against the sale of ivory from poached elephants.