John,

Sharks have ruled the oceans for over 400 million years, but now a brutal online trade is pushing them to the brink of extinction – their jaws carved out and sold as trophies on Amazon.

A recent study found that nearly 2/3rds of wildlife products offered online are from sharks – and 73% of those came from endangered shark species! 

But some platforms like eBay have recently revised their policies, which has led to fewer shark trophy listings. So we know it’s possible! Let’s call on Amazon to follow suit and ban any shark product from their platforms – join our call: 

Amazon: Stop selling shark products - update your policies now!

Over the past 50 years, more than half of all sharks and rays have disappeared due to overfishing, bycatch, poaching and habitat loss. Three-quarters (75%) of sharks and rays are now threatened with extinction. 

Most sharks play a crucial role in marine ecosystems as predators and apex predators. When they disappear, complex food webs fall apart like a house of cards, threatening the health of our oceans and, as a consequence, our climate.

Wildlife product trade, especially online, has been booming and adding to the tremendous pressure on sharks. Most online sellers have policies on wildlife trade in place, but many are still too weak or not transparent enough, acting more as greenwashing for the platforms than actual wildlife protection.

The good news is that some online sellers like eBay have recently updated their shark product policies, which has already led to a significant reduction in shark product listings. The bad news is that researchers assume the products have just moved to other platforms like Amazon or Etsy with weaker policies.

But if we make *all* online platforms update and commit to strict shark protection policies, it could eventually lead to no more shark products sold online, and take some of the pressure off these highly endangered animals. Let’s call on Amazon and other online sellers to follow eBay’s example now!

Amazon: Protect the sharks - update your policies now!

*It's International Shark Month!* Thanks to efforts by scientists, conservationists and influencers the sharks’ reputation has shifted – away from the “Jaws”-fueled image of a brainless monster towards that of a sentient, intelligent being. And our community has taken action on so many shark issues, from stopping the shark fin trade to ending the slaughtering of sharks to make squalene for the cosmetics industry. Let’s do it again and help protect all the sharks.