International Fund for Animal Welfare: IFAW Investigation Pushes eBay to Announce Global Ban of All International Ivory Trade
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 5, 2007
11:10 AM
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CONTACT: International Fund for Animal Welfare
Ken Boehm 703-237-1970
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IFAW Investigation Pushes eBay to Announce Global Ban of All International Ivory Trade
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WASHINGTON - JUNE 5 - International
online commerce site eBay has today said that it will announce a ban on the
international trade of elephant ivory on all of its sites around the globe,
creating the first-ever online international trade ban of elephant ivory.
This decision follows an eight-country international investigation by IFAW
(International Fund for Animal Welfare -- http://www.ifaw.org) of ivory for
sale on eBay sites, and face-to-face meetings between IFAW and eBay senior
officials in the U.S. and across Europe. This announcement comes as more
than 170 nations convene in The Hague for the 14th meeting of the
Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) to
consider a twenty-year elephant ivory trade moratorium.
In its survey carried out in February 2007, IFAW found that 94% of
elephant ivory for sale on eBay sites was potentially illegal. The report
also found that eBay policies varied from country to country and were often
vague and not enforced.
In its announcement, eBay stated that in addition to the ban of
international trade (trade between nations), that clearer and stricter
policies would be implemented on a national level for in-country trade.
Peter Pueschel, IFAW Head of Global Program Against Wildlife Trade,
said of the news: "This is fantastic news that an international company of
eBay's commercial and financial might has taken groundbreaking steps to
protect elephants from the international illegal ivory trade. IFAW believes
that this is an important step forward, but that a total ban is ultimately
needed, and we will continue to work with eBay and others to implement
this."
A full version of the IFAW report is available at:
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=210165.
To learn more about IFAW's global campaign to protect elephants from
commercial trade, visit http://www.ifaw.org today.
About IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Founded in 1969, IFAW is an international animal welfare and
conservation organization that works to protect wild and domestic animals
and to broker solutions that benefit both animals and people. With offices
in 15 countries around the world, IFAW works to protect whales, elephants,
great apes, big cats, dogs and cats, seals, and other animals.
Editors: Fact sheets, still images and broadcast quality video b-roll
related to the CITES meeting are available via
http://www.thenewsmarket.com/ifaw.
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