Alibaba - here is the good news.

I forwarded my last blog on Alibaba to Jack Ma, CEO, who immediately passed it on to John Spelich, Alibaba's VP in charge of their international corporate affairs.

Here is John's response:

Thanks for the note to Jack, which was forwarded to me.

Please help us get the word out. We do not permit the sale of manta rays on our site. But we found that our listing rules were not clear on that front so late last week we clarified that our listing rules also protect animals who are under UN protection.

We had a handful of listings of manta ray for sale on our site and those are either down or in process of coming down. As a user-generated site we cannot always know what listings are put up but we are pleased when members of the community point out things like this.

Sincerely,

John W. Spelich

Alibaba Group

VP-Intl. Corporate Affairs

Oceana has already been notified with the request to call off their petition. I have not heard from them yet.

It was so easy to get through to Alibaba's top management and have their immediate reaction to this issue.

I wonder why the Oceana employees have not tried using that channel before starting a cumbersome petitioning campaign... Hmmmm....

Did they do that in order to show their donors, existing and potential, how "active" they are in the conservation business?

How ineffective was their approach in this case, and what a waste of time! Do they always work like that?....

Ila France-Porcher wrote to Oceana two days ago:

Dear Representative of Oceana,

I have been receiving letters from Elizabeth Griffin and Emily Fisher saying:

"Sign today to tell Alibaba.com CEO Jack Ma to stop profiting from the deaths of threatened manta rays»
So I'm writing to let you know that one of our members, the same one who convinced Alibaba to stop selling shark fins at the beginning of The Year of the Shark (2009), has contacted the company about the matter, and Alibaba has accordingly removed manta ray products from its websites.

Therefore I would appreciate it if you would spread the word that Jack Ma has once again shown his determination NOT to support practices that threaten vulnerable wild animal species.

Thank you.

With good wishes,
Ila France PorcherThe Shark Group

So far, so good. I would now expect Oceana to set the record straight in their website.

Alibaba does it again.

Manta Ray (Galapagos, 2001)

Photo: Wolfgang Leander

Click on image

This time it's not shark fins but goods made of manta ray leather.

Not long ago, Alibaba's top execs reiterated their commitment to not allow traders of products from endangered animals to use their platform.

Mere lip service?

Most probably not. Let's rather assume they did not realize that manta rays are now being hunted down for several of their body parts, including their gills (another "delicacy" for Chinese "gourmets" - yukkkie!) and skin.

Here is what Oceana found out:

Stop the sale of manta ray leather

Tell the CEO of Alibaba.com to remove manta ray products from his site»

A manta ray can live to be 40 years old—if it’s not turned into a boot. These large, majestic fish are a favorite of divers lucky enough to see them, but they are also targeted by an unlikely foe: the leather industry.

Tell Alibaba.com to stop selling manta ray products»

Manta rays are disappearing from our oceans, in part because of fishing for their skin, gills, and cartilage. Despite the manta ray’s threatened status, manta ray “leather” fetches a high price. We recently discovered that Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest commerce sites, sells boots and wallets made from rays.

They should know better. Several years ago, Oceana activists joined other conservation groups to successfully petition Alibaba.com to stop selling shark products. We know they listen, so we’re asking you to reach out to them again. A fancy wallet is not worth the price of an ocean without rays.

Dear Readers: Please sign the petition. Thank you!