French online sales giant Leboncoin has tightened its regulations against the ivory trade. In addition to ivory items, the company is now removing from its platform any item that might turn out to be made of ivory. This measure is in support of elephant conservation efforts in Africa. The continent has lost more than 100,000 elephants in 20 years due to the ivory trade.
The fight against the
virtual trade routes used by cybercriminals to exploit wildlife, in particular
the ivory trade, has just moved up a gear. Popular with almost 28 million
visitors every month, the French online sales platform Leboncoin has just
adopted a more radical stance by applying a new ban based on the precautionary
principle.
The ban includes listings
with terms such as "imitation ivory" or "ivory-style", as
well as any item described as being made from a material similar to ivory, such
as bone, resin or plastic. "By adopting the precautionary principle,
which aims to ban from the platform any item that could turn out to be made of
ivory, we are affirming more than ever our desire to take a responsible
approach to Leboncoin, not only with regard to animals, but also by protecting
our users who could be taken advantage of," says Amandine de Souza,
Leboncoin's Managing Director.
This tightening of
restrictions follows comments made by the International Fund for Animal Welfare
(IFAW), which is supporting Leboncoin in its anti-ivory trade strategy. The
regular monitoring carried out by the wildlife protection organisation
highlighted the risk of fraud linked to misleading advertisements claiming that
the items sold were not made of ivory. "The new regulations introduced
by Leboncoin put an end to the subterfuges used until now by sellers to market
prohibited items on their site. This is a major step forward in the fight
against the ivory trade, and shows the way for other platforms to follow",
says Mia Crnojevic, Ifaw's campaign manager.
Such a measure could curb
the bleeding of elephants, particularly in Africa. A recent study by Elephants
Without Borders (EWB) revealed that more than 100,000 elephants have been
killed for their tusks in Africa since 2007. While elephant poaching has
decreased in East Africa, the phenomenon persists in West, Central and Southern
Africa.
Fanta Mabo
