In recent years, many citizens have purchased and raised wild animals as pets. These "alternative pets" trading behaviors will not only affect the ecology, but may also violate the law or even constitute a crime. On February 28, the People’s Court of Cixi City, Zhejiang Province opened a trial through a multi-party remote video method to open a trial for the illegal purchase of rare and endangered wild animals. The defendant was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for one year, and fined in one trial. 5000 yuan.
Shi, a young man from Cixi, is a "post-95". On May 5, 2019, he contacted via WeChat and spent 2,200 yuan to buy a young golden python to raise at his home. After learning that the seller was arrested in Sichuan, on September 19, 2019, Shi went to the public security organ to surrender. Shi said that he knew that golden pythons are nationally protected animals, but he has liked pythons since he was a child and wanted to raise one by himself, so he found someone online to buy it at a cheap price.
The snake
purchased by Shi has been identified. The golden python purchased by Shi is an albino species of Burmese python of the order Anaconda. The Burmese python is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. After verification, the python is worth 5,000 yuan. After the incident, the golden python has been handed over to the forest police for proper settlement. After trial, the court held that Shi’s illegal purchase of rare and endangered wild animals constituted the crime of illegally purchasing rare and endangered wild animals. Given that he voluntarily surrendered to the case, he could truthfully confess his crimes and voluntarily pleaded guilty and punished according to law. Give a lighter punishment. The court sentenced him to eight months' imprisonment, suspended for one year, and fined him 5,000 yuan.
Court trial site
[Judge's statement]
According to my country’s Criminal Law, illegal hunting and killing of rare and endangered wild animals under national protection, or illegal purchase, transportation, and sale of rare and endangered wild animals under national protection and their products If the circumstances are particularly serious, the maximum penalty is more than ten years imprisonment. Among them, "rare and endangered wild animals" include wild animals listed in the national first and second level protected wild animals on the national key protected wild animals list, wild animals listed in Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and Domesticated and bred above species.
Some wild animals carry bacteria, viruses and parasites, which can easily cause human infections and even death. Some wild animals will become foreign invaders and cause damage to the surrounding ecological environment. If citizens find illegal breeding, management, eating, or transportation of wild animals, they can contact the market supervision department or the wildlife department for investigation and punishment, or they can directly call the police.
[legal link]
Article 341 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China
illegally hunts or kills rare or endangered wild animals under special state protection, or illegally purchases, transports, or sells precious, under special state protection Endangered wild animals and their products shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and fined; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and fined; where the circumstances are particularly serious, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years , And fined or confiscated property.
Violation of hunting regulations, hunting in restricted areas, hunting periods, or using prohibited tools or methods, destroying wild animal resources, and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, control or fines of not more than three years.
