TOKYO/SAN FRANCISCO ¨C Yahoo Japan, the country¡¯s biggest online auction site, is rebuffing calls to end online ivory trading despite Yahoo Inc. CEO Marissa Mayer¡¯s misgivings over facilitating a business blamed for the illegal slaughter of African elephants.
Yahoo Japan doesn¡¯t accept that ivory sold on its platform ¡ª supposedly imported into Japan before a 1989 ban on international shipments ¡ª is a factor behind the sharp rise in poaching on the African savannah in recent years.
Dismissing animal rights campaigners¡¯ concerns, even though the ivory business contributes only a fraction of its sales, Yahoo Japan also says that as long as no laws are broken people should be able to trade whatever they like on the internet.
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