The man killed the flamingo and was sentenced to five years in prison!

Between the cramped aviary, the bloodstained walls have been repainted. However, the occasional strange noise in the night still made the flamingos, which looked "cold" during the day, suspicious and tightly curled up together.

Recalling the scene they saw one morning in 2021, the staff of the Bird Language Forest in a park in Dalian still have palpitations, and the surviving flamingos at the scene screamed in amazement, and more than 10 large and small, bloody flamingo corpses were all over the aviary...... The staff of the Bird Forest reported that the flamingos in the Bird Forest Park were killed. Subsequently, the Zhongshan Branch of the Dalian Municipal Public Security Bureau found that Xiao was a major suspect. In April 2023, Xiao was summoned to the case and criminally detained.

On March 8, 2024, the People's Procuratorate of Zhongshan District, Dalian City, Liaoning Province, prosecuted the defendant Xiao for the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals, and after trial in accordance with law, the court sentenced the defendant to 5 years in prison, and the defendant Xiao pleaded guilty and accepted punishment for the crime.

The "Flame" Disappearing in the Birdsong Forest

"Before the incident, Xiao's community workers, neighbors and family members reported that his mental state was unstable, especially after drinking, and his behavior was even more abnormal. During the arraignment, when questioned about his motive for killing the flamingo, Xiao admitted that because the night was too quiet and the birds were too noisy, he felt that they were laughing at him, so he took advantage of the strength of the wine to temporarily beat the flamingo to death...... "Liu Yanxia, the prosecutor handling the case at the Zhongshan District Procuratorate, said.

After investigation, Xiao had received three administrative punishments for intentional destruction of property, wounding people, and theft, and his mother, community personnel, and neighbors all confirmed that Xiao's mental state was not good, especially after drinking, and it was difficult to control his emotions, and he had repeatedly smashed things, disrupted the normal life of his surroundings, and interfered with the work of community workers, and his family did not have the conditions and ability to control him.

Late at night on the day of the incident, Xiao went to the vicinity of the bird language forest in a park in Zhongshan District, Dalian City, heard the sound of birds in the park, and suddenly felt upset. In order to vent his anger, Xiao went over the mountain into the bird forest, picked up the wooden stick, and chased the flamingos in the aviary, resulting in the death and injury of many flamingos. When he walked out of the gate of the Bird Forest, the janitor saw that he smelled of alcohol and chased him away.

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Whether the flamingo involved is a protected animal

"In recent years, with the change of the criminalization criteria for criminal cases of destruction of wildlife resources, the determination of the species and price of some wild animals involved in the case, especially whether they are precious and endangered wild animals as stipulated in the criminal law, requires solid evidence and sufficient argumentation. "As special as animals such as the Burmese tortoise, the flamingo belongs to both the continent's 'three animals' and the animals listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora." ”

According to the new judicial interpretations issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Court, national rare and endangered wildlife mainly include wild animals included in the List of Wild Animals under National Key Protection, or "wild animals that have been approved by the wildlife protection department of the State Council and are managed in accordance with wild animals under national key protection." Accordingly, although some wild animals are listed in Appendix I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, they cannot be automatically converted into national first- and second-class protected animals.

"After referring to the Notice on the Approval of Some Endangered Wild Animals as Wild Animals under National Key Protection (1993) and the State Forestry Administration's reply to the Burmese tortoise in 2009, whether the flamingos involved in the case are 'wild animals not native to the mainland' is the focus of the case, including the issue of artificial breeding and the value of the flamingos involved, which need to be confirmed and demonstrated one by one, which is the key to conviction and sentencing. Liu Yanxia said.

To this end, the prosecutor handling the case of the Zhongshan District Procuratorate communicated with the investigation agency many times, entrusted Yunnan, Shanxi and other appraisal agencies to conduct two appraisals of the species, protection level and value of flamingos, consulted the professional opinions of species identification experts of Nanjing Forest Public Security University, and guided the investigation agencies to go to the customs, forestry bureau, import and export companies, original import units and other departments to obtain the "flamingo situation description", "import and export certificate", import and export invoices, Detailed accounts and other evidence, the original documentary evidence proving the import was obtained from the Dalian Municipal Archives, and the fact that the flamingos were imported from Cuba was finally determined, and the import and export chain of the flamingos involved in the case was consolidated, and it was determined that the flamingos involved in the case belonged to wild animals that were not native to the mainland, and should belong to the national second-class protected animals in accordance with the relevant regulations of the mainland, and after determining the protection level, domestication and breeding and other factors, it was determined that the value of the case amounted to 280,000 yuan.

"I feel like they're laughing at me......"

"According to the first judicial appraisal issued by the appraisal agency, Xiao had full capacity for criminal responsibility at the time of the crime, but only a week later, Xiao was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment for bipolar disorder many times, and it was not until 2023 that the investigating agency summoned him in place. Their mental condition is another very important factor in conviction and sentencing. Liu Yanxia said.

In order to further verify, the procurator handling the case obtained the admission records and diagnostic conclusions of the psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric rehabilitation centers, and other medical institutions where he was treated, and after conducting a comprehensive study and judgment with the technical evidence review department, decided to entrust Xiao X with a judicial appraisal again. The second appraisal also showed that Xiao was indeed a "harmful use" of alcohol, but Xiao was in a remission period of bipolar affective disorder at the time of the crime, and although it would affect his mood swings, his ability to identify and control the crime was normal, he had full capacity for criminal responsibility, and he also had the ability to stand trial in this case.

The prosecutor handling the case believes that Xiao has committed the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals, and the animals involved in the case are worth 280,000 yuan. At the same time, it constitutes the crime of intentional destruction of property, which is an imaginary joint offense, and should be punished as a felony in accordance with law. It shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years in accordance with the crime of intentional injury, and shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years in accordance with the crime of endangering precious or endangered wildlife, and shall be found to be the crime of endangering precious or endangered wildlife in accordance with law.

On the day of the trial, the procuratorate alleged in court that the facts were clear, the evidence was credible and sufficient, and the defendant Xiao X illegally killed rare and endangered wild animals under national key protection, and the circumstances were serious. After deliberation by the collegial panel, the court pronounced a verdict in court and ruled that the defendant Xiao was guilty of endangering precious and endangered wild animals, and was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of RMB 10,000, and at the same time sentenced the defendant Xiao to compensate the victim enterprise RMB 280,000.

Source: Rule of Law Daily B51