全球最大的拍賣網站eBay宣布從2009年1月1日開始，不再允許在其網站上進行象牙交易行為。
針對象牙交易這個複雜議題，eBay曾諮詢世界自然基金會（WWF）、國際動物福利基金會（IFAW）、美國人道協會（the Humane Society of the United States）、美國漁業暨野生動物局（the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service）等機構。e-Bay聘請的部落客布瑞沃海（Richard Brewer-Hay）諮詢相關單位之後，10月20日在官方部落格寫下一則公告：「審查小組的結論是，我們就是不能保證列在eBay網站上待售的象牙是否遵從複雜的象牙買賣管理規約，因此，為了要保護我們的買家與賣家以及瀕臨滅絕的動物，eBay決定要訂定全球性禁止所有種類象牙買賣的規範。」
eBay公司資深管理委員克理斯丁（Jack Christin）解釋說，他們公司已經有象牙買賣的規定，現在會將它延伸來禁止象牙交易。他表示：「因為eBay的全球線上市場平台具有獨特的本質，同時買賣合法象牙的規則與規範越來越複雜，我們將把邊界交易的禁令繼續延伸至完全禁止在eBay上買賣象牙。」
克理斯丁表示：「這個策略事實上與我們的一般原則是相符的，也就是由瀕危或是受保護的動物種類，其身體部份所製成的商品不能在eBay買賣，因為大部分的象牙製品是取自非洲象及亞洲象，而這些大象都是瀕危或是受法律保護的。我們認為這對我們的社群而言是對的作法。」
全球野生動物保育人士都對這個決策感到歡欣鼓舞，認為這是一次重要的勝利。 eBay的新策略是在IFAW最新調查報告發表的前幾個小時公布的，報告顯示動物網路交易置大象及其他瀕危物種的生存於立即性的威脅。每一年，在非洲及亞洲有超過20000頭大象被非法屠殺，以因應對象牙產品的需求量。
IFAW報告的是一項為期6週的調查結果，這個調查追蹤登錄在11國183個網站超過7000項野生動物產品。調查報告將eBay列為這個問題的最大貢獻者，必須對大約2/3的全球野生動物產品線上交易量負責。
這份報告名為「以敲鍵進行殺戮：網際網路非法野生動物交易調查（Killing with Keystrokes: An Investigation of the Illegal Wildlife Trade on the World Wide Web）」，其中顯示，所有瀕危物種的野生動物產品有超過70%是在美國的網站上登錄買賣，其次是英國及中國，其所佔交易比例遠小於美國。
在調查過程中發現了超過4000項登錄交易的象牙商品，大部分的交易是在eBay美國網站上進行的。其中有一次交易，一個會員用超過21000美元買了一對象牙原齒。這個報告追蹤的所有登錄交易的商品中，有73%是大象牙齒，外國引進的鳥類將近20%，猿類、豬隻及其他動物加起來佔為剩餘的比例（大約7%）。
The top online auction site, eBay, has announced that it will no longer allow the trading of ivory on its websites as of January 1, 2009.
In reviewing the complex issue of ivory trading, eBay consulted with the World Wildlife Fund, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Humane Society of the United States, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In a post on the eBay Ink blogsite Monday, Richard Brewer-Hay wrote that following these consultations, "The team concluded that we simply can’t ensure that ivory listed for sale on eBay is in compliance with the complex regulations that govern its sale. So, to protect our buyers and sellers, as well as animals in danger of extinction, eBay has decided to institute a global ban on the sale of all types of ivory."
eBay Inc. senior regulatory counsel Jack Christin explained that the company already has regulations in place for the sale of ivory and will now be broadening them to ban ivory sales. "Due to the unique nature of eBay's global online marketplace and the growing complexity of the rules and regulations surrounding the sale of legal ivory, we will be moving from a ban on cross-border sales to rolling out a complete ban of the sale of ivory on eBay," he said.
"This policy is actually consistent with our general approach to the sale of items made from parts of animals - items made from a part of an endangered or protected species cannot be sold on eBay," Cristin said. "Since a vast majority of ivory items are made from African and Asian elephants that are endangered or protected, we think this is the right approach to take for our community."
Wildlife conservationists around the world are celebrating the decision as a major victory.
eBay's new policy was announced just hours before the release of the latest investigative report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare showing Internet trade in wildlife poses an immediate threat to the survival of elephants and many other endangered species. Every year, more than 20,000 elephants are illegally slaughtered in Africa and Asia to meet demand for ivory products.
IFAW reported the results of a six-week investigation that tracked more than 7,000 wildlife product listings on 183 websites in 11 countries. It singled out eBay as the largest contributor to the problem, responsible for almost two-thirds of the online trade in wildlife products worldwide.
IFAW's report, "Killing with Keystrokes: An Investigation of the Illegal Wildlife Trade on the World Wide Web," shows that more than 70 percent of all endangered species products listed for sale on the Internet occur in the United States, with the next two leading countries, the United Kingdom and China, accounting for a much smaller percentage of the trade.
Over 4,000 elephant ivory listings were uncovered during the investigation, with most of the sales taking place on eBay's U.S. site. In one transaction, a user purchased a pair of elephant tusks off eBay for more than $21,000.
Of all product listings tracked by the report, 73 percent were elephant ivory, exotic birds accounted for nearly 20 percent and primates, big cats and other animals made up the rest.
