Giant Online Platform Says No to Any Form of Ivory

A French online sales giant is furthering its stance against the ivory trade by imposing a new ban, removing from its platform any item that could turn out to be ivory, thus protecting animals from cruelty and customers from being taken advantage of.

“The new regulations introduced by Leboncoin put an end to the subterfuges used until now by sellers to market prohibited items on their site,” says Mia Crnojevic, campaign manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare. “This is a major step forward in the fight against the ivory trade and shows the way for other platforms to follow.”

With close to 28 million visitors every month, the classified ads website Leboncoin has decided to extend the ban by applying the precautionary principle. It includes not only listings with terms like “imitation ivory” or “ivory-style” but also items described as being made from materials similar to ivory, like bone, resin, or plastic. The ivory trade contributed to the demise of more than 100,000 elephants in two decades, hence the French online sales platform’s support of elephant conservation efforts in Africa.