Jimu news reporter Zhang Wanjun
On February 9, it was reported that a villager in Tanjiahe Township, Xinyang District, Henan Province, illegally hunted a white-crowned long-tailed pheasant, a national first-class protected animal, and sold it on the side of the road. On February 10, a reporter from Jimu News learned from the local forest public security department that the police were investigating the matter. Lawyers say clients will be held criminally liable or face more than 10 years in prison.
An online video shows a man in a hat riding a motorcycle with a strangely shaped wild bird tied to the tail of the motorcycle, covered with yellow, black, white and gray feathers, and the tail feathers are nearly 1 meter long. It is not possible to tell from the video whether the bird is still alive.
The video publisher said that on the morning of February 9, netizens reported that a villager was found to be illegally hunting the white-crowned long-tailed pheasant, a national first-class protected animal, and selling it on the side of the road.
The Jimu news reporter found that the white-crowned long-tailed pheasant resembled a domestic chicken and had a long tail, and the male pheasant was about 1.5 meters long. The white-crowned pheasant is a special animal of the mainland, distributed in the mountains of central and northern China, northern and western Hebei, Shanxi and southern Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, northern Guizhou, eastern Sichuan, Henan and western Anhui, and is rarely found.
On February 10, the staff of the Forestry Bureau of Xunhe District of Xinyang City told Jimu News that they had received relevant reports and that the staff of the forestry law enforcement brigade of the bureau had joined forces with the forest public security department to investigate the matter. According to relevant photos circulating online, the local forestry department and wildlife protection department have determined that it is a white-crowned long-tailed pheasant. The white-crowned long-tailed pheasant was previously a national second-level protected animal, and is now a national first-class protected animal, and its traces have not been found in the local area before.
The Jimu News reporter learned from the Xinyang City Forest Public Security Bureau Xunhe Police Station that the station has received the police information, and on the morning of the 10th, the police have gone to the scene to investigate.
Wu Zhengping, a lawyer at Hubei Shouyi Law Firm, introduced that the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China divides wild animals under national key protection into first-level protected wild animals and second-level protected wild animals, which are more precious than second-level animals and have greater protection. Regardless of whether the white-crowned pheasant is a national first- or second-class protected animal, those who illegally hunt and kill them will be held criminally responsible, but the sentence for hunting first-class animals may be more than ten years in prison, and the punishment is relatively heavier. On the other hand, according to the Criminal Law, even if the perpetrator picks up the white-crowned pheasant and sells it, it is suspected of constituting the crime of illegally selling precious and endangered wildlife products, and it is still subject to criminal liability. (The picture of this article is from @Meixinyang)