what chance does the poor elephant have!
An investigative report by the International Fund for Animal Welfare reveals how the rampant trade in elephant ivory being carried out across eBay's global network of auction sites is enabling consumers to literally bid for the extinction of the world's largest land mammal.
The snapshot survey conducted in the UK, Australia, China, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the USA* tracked over 2,200 elephant ivory items listed on eBay Web sites and found that more than 90% of the listings breached even eBay's own respective national wildlife policies.
While international wildlife trade laws are complex, in general it is illegal to sell carved or uncarved ivory unless it is antique and accompanied by a proof of age certificate.
On eBay, however, many sellers are being allowed simply to list items with no provenance of legality whatsoever, in blatant contravention of the rules on most eBay Web sites.
Full article: http://www.counterpunch.org/cp05182007.html
