In a Tuesday statement, conservation advocacy group Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) said that thousands of advertisements on the Google Japan shopping site promote products made from endangered whales and elephants.

Accusing Google of helping fuel a substantial increase in ivory demand in Asia which has led to the killing of African elephants at record levels, EIA - a Washington- and London-based organization which investigates as well as campaigns against unlawful wildlife trade and other environmental crimes - said that it has requested Google to remove the ads.

According to the EIA's statement, it had sought the removal of the ads by Google in its February 22-dated letter to the company's CEO Larry Page. However, the agency also added alongside that it has neither received any response to the letter nor has Google taken down the ads.

Noting that Google has commendable policies which forbid the promotion of endangered wildlife products - including whale, dolphin and elephant ivory -, the EIA president Allan Thornton said that it was unfortunate that the company's evident failure to enforce its own policies had resulted in a "devastating" situation for whales and elephants.

Thornton also added that "it is shocking to discover that Google, with the massive resources it has at its disposal, is failing to enforce its own policies," despite the fact that "elephants are being mass slaughtered across Africa to produce ivory trinkets."