Knowing that the spotted seal is a first-class protected animal on the mainland, but they still have a crooked mind, illegally hunting, buying, transporting, selling... After the offender is caught, how are the spotted seals seized and temporarily raised by the judicial authorities released for rescue? On July 7, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released a typical case of public interest litigation for ecological environmental protection procuratorates, introducing the "bumpy road home" of spotted seals.
As the only pinniped marine mammal that breeds in mainland waters, the number of spotted seals is less than 2,000, and it is known as the "giant panda of the sea" and "the elf of Liaodong Bay".
Between 2016 and 2019, Zhai Moumou and others illegally hunted, purchased, transported and sold 206 spotted seals, causing heavy damage to the spotted seal population and posing serious threats to precious and endangered wildlife resources. In this case, 72 live spotted seals that were detained in different places were not released or rescued in time, resulting in new deaths or loss of conditions for release. In this already small family, the "wandering" spotted seal urgently needs effective rescue.
In December 2022, the Eighth Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate handed over the clues of the public interest litigation on the traceability and governance of the spotted seals involved in the case to the Liaoning Provincial Procuratorate, which transferred the clues to the Dalian Municipal Procuratorate. On March 15, 2023, the Dalian Municipal Procuratorate opened a case. After investigation, it was found that 46 seals involved in the case survived and were detained and fostered in 14 cities in 10 provinces across the country. However, due to the fact that the management of physical evidence of live wild animals has not been standardized and institutionalized, the evidence standards and forms of the wild animals involved in the case are not clear, and the transfer and connection mechanism is not perfect, these spotted seals are still being detained and fostered in many places.
Expert discussion meeting on the spotted seal case
On March 24, the Dalian Municipal Procuratorate sent a letter to the Xingdao Branch of the Dalian Municipal Public Security Bureau, urging him to speed up the transfer of live spotted seals involved in the case. Due to the strong professionalism and difficulty of rescue of live spotted seals involved in the case, the Dalian Municipal Procuratorate organized an expert discussion meeting, and formed expert opinions after full demonstration:
Form an assessment team to determine whether the conditions for release are met;
Carry out rewilding training for those who meet the conditions for release, and transfer those who do not meet the conditions to the local fishery department for rescue;
The rescue plan shall be examined and approved by the fishery administrative department at or above the provincial level;
Request the Fisheries and Fisheries Administration Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to strengthen coordination;
The judicial organs and administrative departments are to jointly study the "separation of prosecution and release" mechanism for the rescue and release of wild animals involved in the case.
Joint Committee on the Protection of Spotted Seals Involved in the Case
After the expert opinion was formed, the Dalian Municipal Procuratorate acted quickly and set up a joint disposal team composed of three organs, including public prosecution and law, and decided to release the detention and transfer in kind in five districts and batches.
However, since 46 captive seals are being fostered in 14 cities in 10 provinces across the country, how can the judiciary transfer the seals to the administrative authorities across provinces? After receiving the instructions from the layer, the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued a letter to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Requesting Attention and Rescue of the Spotted Seals Involved in the Case. After receiving the letter, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs actively instructed local fishery departments to do a good job in the handover and shelter and rescue of spotted seals.
Shandong Rizhao spotted seal handed over to the scene
The Dalian Municipal Procuratorate continued to follow up and supervise, carry out cross-regional coordination, and transfer relevant public interest litigation case leads to the 11 regions involved. With the coordinated promotion of multiple departments in various regions, the transfer of live seals involved in the case has been completed, and the rescue work is being carried out in an orderly manner.
(Source: Justice Network Author: Zhu Shuhui)