Internet auction site eBay has changed its policy on ivory sales ahead of the release of a damning report on the effect of online trading of wildlife products.

The report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare finds that online sales of wildlife and wildlife products have become a major threat to a number of endangered species already struggling to survive.

The report was embargoed until Tuesday, but that restriction was dropped Monday night after eBay announced a ban on ivory sales, beginning Jan. 1, 2009.

The report had singled out eBay as the top offender among online sales companies, saying the company is responsible for two-thirds of the world's online trade in wildlife products.

Not surprisingly, ivory from elephants was the most common product being sold illegally online. Of all the products that were tracked in the survey, ivory comprised 73 per cent.

More than 4,000 elephant ivory products were listed on eBay during the probe. In one case, a pair of elephant tusks sold for more than $21,000.

Most of the ivory sales were occurring on eBay's U.S. sites.

On the company blog, eBay representatives announced the ban was intended to protect African and Asian elephants.

Some exceptions will remain for products that use a small amount of ivory, such as pianos, but only for products made before 1900.

Items with large amounts of ivory, such as carved chess sets and ivory jewellery, will not be allowed to be sold on the site regardless of when they were made.

After ivory, exotic birds were second on the list of most common wildlife products being sold online, comprising roughly 20 per cent of the total.

Primates and big cats were also high on the list, sold either as live animals or as derivative products such as skins, the report states.

Though the IFAW welcomed the eBay ban, the group planned to go ahead with a scheduled Tuesday news conference announcing the findings of the report. The group stated that many other online companies are still involved in the trade of wildlife products such as ivory and exotic birds.

"IFAW congratulates eBay on this very important step to protect elephants. With these findings and eBay's leadership, there is no doubt left that all Internet dealers need to take responsibility for their impact on endangered species by enacting and enforcing a ban on all online wildlife trade," said Barbara Cartwright, IFAW campaigns manager, in a news release.

She encouraged other online dealers and governments to follow eBay's lead and move to ban illegal ivory sales.