Trade Me is New Zealand's on line and classified auction site which is similar to Ebay.
Trade Me is contributing to the Illegal Ivory Trade, and therefore the poaching of elephants. Trade Me allows "antique" ivory to be sold on their site. But we all know that ivory traders lie and say their recently poached ivory is either antique for "faux" (at high prices). I am asking you to sign this petition for Trade Me to remove the sale of all ivory products. In the last thirty years the number of wild elephants in Africa has dropped from 1.2 million to approximately 420,000. This decline is due to illegal poaching of these magnificent creatures as well as habitat decline.
Dear Mr Jon MacDonald,
We know that Trade Me allows "antique" ivory to be sold on your site. We are petitioning you as CEO to to ban the sale of all ivory. Without corporate responsibility the website is contributing to the escalation of the ivory trade and its poaching of elephants.
Etsy has banned the sale of ivory because the date of the ivory itself could not be verified as legal. It is common knowledge that ivory traders lie about the age of their ivory and falsely list is as "antique" or "faux" on websites. Since Etsy has banned the sale of endangered animal parts its business has increased. It would also be favourable that Trade Me follows suit to show solidarity for preservation of the species.
The number of wild elephants in Africa has dropped from 1.2 million to approximately 420,000. This is horrific loss, most of it due to poaching. At the rate China is carving ivory, it is estimated that elephants will be extinct in 10 to 15 years. If Trade Me continues to allow any ivory to be sold on their site, it increases demand for more ivory, meaning its sellers (Trade Me) and users are contributing to poaching. To understand the devastation fueled by demand for ivory, please read National Geographic's "Blood Ivory." http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/christy-text
We urge you to make the right and moral decision. Ban all ivory from Trade Me.
