Amazon.com Responds To Campaign To Drop Whale and Dolphin Meat

How We Won

Mar 08, 2012

Amazon.com officially put a policy in place against selling whale and dolphin meat after quietly pulling the offending products and refusing to issue a permanent ban. Amazon’s updated list of prohibited items now includes a ban on “parts or products from whale or dolphin.”

Melissa Sehgal, who launched a campaign on Change.org that grew to 200,000 signatures calling for the policy change, was heartened by the news.

“I am so thankful for the inspiration and support of compassionate people around the world who took part in my campaign on Change.org. When the Environmental Investigation Agency and Humane Society International released their report about Amazon.com selling whale and dolphin meat, I was horrified, but not surprised,” said Melissa. “I have witnessed killers give Japan a bad name by driving these animals into a shallow cove in Taiji and slaughtering these intelligent, sensitive beings for unhealthy meat products.”

Why This Is Important

In just a few weeks in Taiji, Japan, I have witnessed unimaginable cruelty and bloodshed. The film The Cove is horrifying, and even though I’ve been here before, I can never fully prepare for what I am witnessing: the slaughter and mutilation of hundreds of dolphins.

On February 22, Amazon.com responded to consumer pressure and removed dolphin, porpoise, and whale meat from their online store after the Environmental Investigation Agency and Humane Society International exposed them for selling whale bacon, whale jerky, canned whale meat, and more than 100 other products. But they have yet to adopt a clear policy that Amazon.com will never sell these items.

Quietly pulling those products from their site is not enough. It’s time for Amazon.com to put a permanent ban on whale, dolphin, and porpoise meat in place.

I know that not everyone can come to Japan to join me to speak out for dolphins and whales, but together we can convince Amazon to permanently stop selling all whale, dolphin, and porpoise products. If Amazon--the largest online retailer in the world--were to adopt a policy like this, it would send a clear message to the world.

Thank you for your support. Many people in Japan are against this massacre, too, and we all appreciate your help in signing and sharing this petition.

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