In an effort to help protect the endangered African and Asian elephants, eBay announced that it will be banning the sales of ivory products. The new policy will be introduced in December.

Still, there will be certain exceptions to the rule, allowing the sale of items with small amounts of ivory, made before 1900, such as pianos. Other items such as chess sets and jewelry will no longer be available on the popular Web site.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare stated that there are more than 4,000 ivory products listed on eBay and that the matter must be addressed as soon as possible.

"eBay's decision to wash its hands of the uncontrollable, bloody ivory trade is commendable and should set an example for others," said Teresa Telecky, policy director for Humane Society International.

The Humane Society of the United States also praised the decision, which was awaited for quite some time.

Even though elephants are protected under the International Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, more than 20,000 specimens are illegally killed in Asia and Africa and the main reason is their ivory, extremely valuable on the black-market. The authorities have been trying to stop the phenomenon for many years but the matter cannot be easily resolved. There are some signs of improvement, especially considering that in the 1980s more than 100,000 elephants were slaughtered every year.

Hopefully, this will be just the first of the many efforts done by various companies to help the cause and preserve the wild life.