By FUMI YADA/ Staff Writer
August 5, 2024 at 07:00 JST
Kajika frogs offered for sale online at Yahoo! Auction (Provided by Yahoo! Auction)
Japan’s leading internet auction site prohibited transactions of wild amphibians from July 25.
Yahoo! Auction, formerly known as Yafuoku!, said its guidelines were revised to ensure that frogs and salamanders caught in their natural environment do not end up on the site.
In 2022, Yafuoku! banned individuals from selling endangered and near-threatened species on the site, as they were included in the Environment Ministry’s Red List of creatures at risk of disappearing.
This time, Yahoo! Auction aims to stop users auctioning common amphibians captured outdoors even though they are not inscribed on the Red List.
The policy will apply not only to individuals but also to businesses that have online outlets on the site.
Amphibians bred in captivity are exempt from the ban. Vendors have to submit images and other evidence to show the creatures were raised in a captive environment.
Asked what prompted the latest steps, a representative of LY Corp., operator of Yahoo! Auction, referred with alarm to “a string of cases” in which common amphibians were caught in bulk and put up for auction.
Citing calls by wildlife experts to crack down on such activities, the company decided additional steps were needed to reinforce its 2022 ban on sales of endangered species.
The site operator said it “took into account our service’s possible impact on the environment.”
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