Yahoo! Gets Heat For Whale And Dolphin Meat Sales (Updated)

Back in April 2010, the Environmental Investigation Agency pointed out that Yahoo! Japan did indeed sell whale meat, including bacon (blubber) and canned products.

Since then, Amazon.com was called out for carrying more than 100 whale products, and just a few days later the online retail store confirmed a policy to ban all sales of whale and dolphin products.

It seems activists are taking on Yahoo! next. A new petition on change.org has pointed out that Yahoo! has not stopped selling these controversial products, even as the Humane Society International and Environmental Investigation Agency have reported on their whale, dolphin, and even elephant products.

"At a time when the U.S. Government is applying international pressure to force an end to Iceland's whaling and international trade, Yahoo! Japan is effectively encouraging further hunting of the species by selling endangered fin whale meat products on its website," EIA representative Clare Perry said in an October press release.

The petition points out that fried whale meat, a whale dinner, and dolphin meat are currently on Yahoo! Japan's site, meaning Yahoo! has not changed its policy since October. The petition currently has more than 60,000 signatures.

Update: Yahoo! has released a statement saying that while Yahoo! Inc. doesn't allow sales of dolphin, whale, and elephant products in the United States and Europe, they cannot dictate what Yahoo! Japan does.

"As Yahoo! is only a minority shareholder in Yahoo! Japan, however, we cannot unilaterally impose corporate policies on Yahoo! Japan. Any questions about Yahoo! Japan's business should be directed to them," they wrote.