Japanese company named as biggest online retailer of ivory and whale meat

28,000 listings for ivory were found on the Japanese site Rakuten. Tusks in Japan are often used to create personal seals, known as as hanko


I'm so unsurprised by these revelations.  Let's face it Japan's alleged scientific whale catch has to be disposed of.  So, what happens to that whale meat it's not only sold by Rakuten but given to schools to serve for their school lunches.   All in the name of science of course.  Which is just a more polite way of lying through your teeth.

In a report published on Tuesday, the UK-based Environmental Agency (EIA) and the Humane Society International (HSI) called on Japan's biggest online retailer to stop selling the items.

According to the groups, Rakuten's website carries more than 28,000 advertisements for elephant ivory and 1,200 for whale products.

Many of the whale products originated from species that have been protected since 1986 under the moratorium on commercial whaling established by the International Whaling Commission, the groups said in their Blood E-Commerce report.

The species receive the highest level of protection by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which prohibits international trade, the report said, adding: "Despite this, a number of companies were selling endangered fin whale imported from Iceland."

Fourteen of the products did not list the names of the species used, in violation of Japanese labeling laws, it said.