The Supreme Prosecutor: punish crimes against wildlife resources strictly and swiftly

In the first nine months of this year, the national procuratorial authorities prosecuted 15,154 people for crimes against wildlife resources, up 66.2% year-on-year. Judicial handling of the cases revealed that such crimes are characterized by the networked nature of trading places and the gradual industrialization of the criminal model.

According to the analysis of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, from the judicial handling of cases, the objects of such crimes are live, dead, and animal products. There are tiger skin, rhino horn, pangolin and other precious and endangered wild animal products, white-bellied chicken, rhesus monkeys, rock sheep and other state-protected animals, as well as painted eyebrows, sparrows and other “three animals” with important ecological, scientific and social value.

With the rapid development of e-commerce, micro-business platforms and express logistics industry, online trading has gradually become an important link in the underground wildlife trading industry chain. Some online stores have been selling parrots, golden pythons and other prohibited wildlife and products in private under the guise of legality, and there are also businesses that publish wildlife sales information through the WeChat circle of friends. After hunting wild animals, criminals will sell them to farmers' markets and game restaurants, and in some cases, cross-regional trade has formed a fixed “hunting - sales - transportation” industry chain.

With the popularity of “exotic pets”, some people buy wild animals and wildlife products for breeding or enjoyment out of the psychology of hunting or “collecting hobby”. The people involved in the case are smugglers, importers, source dealers and distributors who sell wild animals, but also intermediaries and agents who work with their superiors and subordinates to extract commissions and profits, as well as simply “exotic pets” lovers, forming a huge underground trading network. In a case of “exotic pets” handled by the Chongzhou City Procuratorate in Sichuan, 615 animals were involved, which were sold in all provinces except Tibet.

The Supreme Court said that prosecutors punish crimes against wildlife resources strictly and swiftly. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) has been working with the public security organs to strengthen the supervision of the investigation and handling of cases involving wild animals, effectively guide the investigation and collection of evidence, comprehensively collect, fix and improve evidence, and ensure the accurate application of the law. Work together. (Economic Daily Reporter) (Li Wanxiang)

(Responsible Editor: Sun Dan)