Tag: law enforcement

Police force is “drawing swords” against wildlife crimes in Chinese villages

Posted on by animaldialogue in Conservation, News

On September 20th, the Public Security Bureau of Jingjia County of Shijiazhuang City, together with the local police station, patrolled the surrounding mountain area and determined to strengthen the local wildlife protection force further.

Police patrolling the mountain areas

The county situates in the deep mountainous area of Ceyu and borders two provinces and five counties. The area is densely forested, and there are various wild species. Some of the local wild animals, such as boars, lynxes, foxes, and hares, have severely damaged the villagers’ crops. As a result, some locals have been hunting them down with hatred, and some locals also hunt them for the profit of wildlife products.

Starting from June this year, the campaign “Drawing the Sword 2019” has brought the local police station to pay special attention to wildlife crimes.

During the campaign, the police conducted in-depth surveys on 19 villages, educating the local people about wildlife and raising their awareness of protecting wildlife resources. Examples of locals convicted of wildlife crimes facing punishment were used to explain the laws. The locals are also encouraged to report suspected wildlife crimes. The policemen carefully patrolled and investigated the local food industry, collected intelligence from multiple sources, and followed after the information to track down the traffickers.

The animal traps and fish nets were collected during the patrols

The police station has so far removed a total of 25 hunting clips, one set of fishing nets, and electric fish tools, further eliminating the hidden dangers that are endangering local wildlife.

The original article can be found on: https://news.sina.cn/

Translated by Dule

Edited by Andrea Jia @ Animal Dialogue

Police in Hubei, China seized more than 100 wild animals in a special operation against wildlife crimes

Posted on by animaldialogue in Conservation, News

On July 22, the public security bureau of forestry had a report from the local people that someone was hunting wild animals in Zhongbao, a town in Hubei, China. After investigation, the police arrested the criminal, Wang, who kept a dead tufted deer, 42 traps, and ten sets of steel wire in his home.

The seized wild animals | Credit: China Forest Public Security

After interrogation, Wang admitted using hunting tools founded in his house to hunt wild animals. His behavior violated the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, and he was suspected of killing wildlife. Criminals convicted of such crime would have a three-year set term of imprisonment and a fine. Wang was arrested and detained by the local forest police on July 23. Now, the case is in process. To protect wildlife resources and the ecosystem, the local public security bureau started cracking down criminal exploitation of wildlife. Since then, the bureau had opened five criminal cases related to illegal behavior regarding wild animals. 

Investigation in markets and restaurants

In a special operation to prevent wildlife trade and processing, the forest police cooperated with the market regulatory body to check on all local markets and restaurants. Individually, they investigated the side roads and touristy restaurants, especially the ones with “wildlife” advertisements and menus. In the meantime, the forest police cooperated with forestry and market authorities to comprehensively investigate wild animal farms, habitats, places with abundant wildlife, and high-risk places of poaching. 

The police inspecting the contents of the freezer | Credit: China Forest Public Security

Furthermore, they allied with the traffic police, which checked on vehicles, passengers, and goods to investigate illegal wildlife trafficking. Criminals convicted of wildlife trafficking in China would face a five-year or ten-years set term of imprisonment, a fine, and confiscation of property. 

So far, the forest police opened five wildlife’s criminal cases and seven wildlife administrative cases, arrested 12 criminals, called seven people into court, and confiscated 100 wild animals of diverse species. 

The original article can be found on: https://mbd.baidu.com/

Translated by Yiyi Wen

Edited by Andrea Jia @ Animal Dialogue

Shenzhen enhances animal management practices including mandatory microchips for all dogs

Posted on by animaldialogue in animal welfare, News

On June 20th, a Shenzhen citizen reported in an open letter to the city about the death of stray dogs due to poor management at a local dog shelter. The message showed dogs in abominable conditions. The majority of the dogs were sick or starving, and emaciated bodies of dead dogs laid around the facility.

A photo from the open letter exposing terrible conditions at the dog shelter.

That afternoon, the Shenzhen Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau made a spot check and demanded the dog shelter to rectify the existing problems immediately. Later, the Bureau held a press conference to report the situation and announced that they are building a new shelter facility up to international standards.

This year, Shenzhen focuses on improving dog management. The new “Trap, Neuter, Adopt” (TNA) Project aims to resolve the stray dog problem in the city. The Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau will standardize the management of stray dogs as well as encourage adoptions. For example, the Bureau requires all dogs to receive injections of microchips, which prevents losing pets and holds owners accountable for the dogs’ behavior.

In recent years, due to an increasing number of dog attacks in urban public spaces, Chinese municipal governments have initiated rigorous control of pets and stray dogs.

Last November, the Chengdu Police Department began to seize and dispose of 22 breeds of banned dogs in the city’s dog-restricted area.

Hangzhou government also carried out a governance action plan of pet dog control, prohibiting dog-walking from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. and imposing fines for unleashed walks and unregistered pet dogs.

A toy poodle receiving an ultrasound exam at the 2019 South China Pet Products Exhibition.

In fact, to regulate pet dog ownership and prevent dog attacks, Chinese cities have implemented dog restrictions for many years.

As early as the 1990s, cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Wuhan were the first to introduce dog management measures. After merely a decade, dog management measures have been widely adopted in China. The regulations often put specific restrictions on the time and location of dog walks, the number of dogs owned, as well as the height and breed of the pet dogs. Many dog lovers have voiced their concerns that these regulations are unreasonable and cause unnecessary suffering for certain kinds of dogs. Under such circumstances, whether it is necessary to formulate a unified law across China to regulate pet ownership has become a popular topic for the public.

During the 2018 National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Qian Yefang, standing director of the Chinese Society of Social Law and a professor at the law school of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, drew up the “Companion Animal Protection Act”, hoping to promote relevant legislation. Liu Chen, a scholar at the School of Public Administration and Media, Guilin University of Technology, also expressed recently the necessity of legislation concerning pet ownership in the public area to guide pet owners under the law.

All information comes from  http://www.uschinapress.com/ and http://shenzhen.sina.com.cn/

Translated by Vince Wu

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Spring is here for migratory birds in China: authorities introduce action plan to protect birds better

Posted on by animaldialogue in Conservation, News

Spring sees a large number of migratory birds gathering and flying north as well as a significant increase in crimes such as wild bird hunts and consumption. As the birds’ migration starts in China, it is a crucial time to combat wild-bird-related criminal activities. On March 14, China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration held a teleconference which reported the status quo of bird migration and developed a detailed action plan to enhance the protection of migratory birds and fight bird-related crimes such as poaching, smuggling, and illegal trade.

Chunliang Li, the deputy director of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, demanded that local authorities fight crimes systematically by regulating the source, distribution, and market of wild-bird-related illegal activity.

@Liu Bo

To reinforce the protection of the source of wild birds, local Forestry and Grassland Administration should intensify the patrol for main distribution areas of migratory birds and eliminate illegal hunting tools such as net and poison to prevent migratory-bird mortality from human interference.

Meanwhile, the management of birdwatching activity must be standardized. The public should be educated on healthy ways of birdwatching and bird photography. Any birdwatching activity in nature reserves without permission should be forbidden. In the core zone and buffer zone of nature reserves, no birdwatching or drone photography is allowed except for specific scientific research purposes. Chasing and catching birds to conduct “studio shots” are strictly banned in order not to disturb the normal activities of the birds.

Li encourages exploring applications of technology that improve the efficiency and frequency of patrol and surveillance, especially in areas with dense bird distribution and regions with poor conditions. At the same time, efforts should be made to eliminate blind spots. By doing so, they may provide evidence to help solve cases and punish criminal activities in a swift manner.

@Liu Bo

Li emphasized that every tier of the Administration should collaborate with related departments to strengthen the supervision on circulation and marketing in order to strike the illegal trade of migratory birds. Li also called a thorough cleansing of all artificial breeding sites of wild birds to prevent these spots from becoming processing plants, transfer stations or shelters of illegal wildlife trade.

Lastly, to totally cut off the interest chain of poaching, illegal trade, and smuggling, law enforcement effort must be improved in commercial businesses such as restaurants, bird-and-flower markets, raw material distribution centers, ports, and trade routes with a high rate of smuggling.

As e-commerce, express shipping, and social media have recently become new tools of illegal wildlife trade, Li also required subordinates to enhance surveillance of these platforms and to put relevant laws into practice.

Whooper swans on their migration route @Yi Nuo

All information comes from https://mp.weixin.qq.com/

Translated by Hengyu Du

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue

Eight Asian internet companies joined the “Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online”

Posted on by animaldialogue in Conservation, News

On March 6, the first anniversary of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online (referred to as “the Coalition”), the director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, Wu Zhimin, stated that the issue of online trafficking of endangered species has become a common challenge faced by countries around the world, and internet enterprises will play a more prominent role in the protection of endangered species.

“The Coalition has used technology to establish a network to strike online illegal wildlife trade. They have used responsibility, technology and innovation to eliminate hiding places for wildlife smugglers.” IFAW Asia Representative, Ge Rui, said.

On the day of the anniversary, eight internet companies including Sina Weibo, Yachang Art Network, Sogou Search, Hantang Collection Network, China Antiques Network, Turtle Friends, Kupatana from Tanzania and Sapo from Vietnam announced to join the Coalition.

Members of the Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online
@The Paper

On March 7th, 2018, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC), along with 21 internet companies, established the Coalition in San Francisco, USA. The Coalition aims to create a new internet environment where illegal wildlife smugglers have no place to escape.

Since the establishment of the Coalition, member companies have been actively promoting enforcement of legislation, exploring the application of new technologies to filter and remove illegal information, and raising users’ awareness of protecting wildlife against illegal trade.

In the past year, Chinese internet companies deleted and blocked at least one million pieces of illegal wildlife advertisements and trading information. A considerable number of unlawful accounts were removed, and the time-efficiency of investigating reported information increased significantly. For example, Tecent’s security department handed over reported evidence to the local law enforcement which later destroyed a gang of over 200.

The founder and the CEO of Beijing Wenwan Tianxia Co., Ltd., Chi Rui, said that as one of the earliest companies to join the Coalition, the staff have been threatened and personally attacked while blocking illegal wildlife trade information. The company believes that they should not only delete accounts and block information but also help people find better replacements of wildlife products.

“Carving is part of the traditional culture of China. And some fruit cores can replace ivory and rhino horns. Seeking better alternatives is part of our next step forward.” Chi Rui said.

All information comes from www.thepaper.cn

Translated by Dule

Edited by Andrea Jia and Riley Peng @ Animal Dialogue