First Came the Ban on Japanese Whale Hunting, And Now This Amazing News!

Another victory for whales! Rakutan Ichiba, one of Japan’s largest online retailers, has agreed to stop selling whale meat through its marketplace! This action comes as a response to the pressure of campaigns run by the Environmental Investigation Agency, the Humane Society International, and people like you!

As you may know, Rakutan is the largest online marketplace for endangered animals goods, such as whale meat and African elephant ivory. Before the removal of whale meat, Rakutan publicized over 1,000 advertisements for endangered whale meat, merchants have been given 30 days to remove these ads from the website.

The decision to remove whale meat from the marketplace comes in conjunction with the UN’s ruling to ban Japan’s illegal whaling / “scientific research” in the Antarctic. With this and news that Japanese people are dropping whale meat from their diet, things are finally looking up for our large, blubbery friends.

This success is a great step to ending Rakutan’s inhumane reign over the Internet, but there is still work to be done! Rakutan has made no effort to end the sale of illegal ivory products through its marketplace. However, it is clear that with more pressure from awesome organizations (and the incredible activists that Support them), this goal is well within reach!

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons