The Shangnan Court rendered a first-instance judgment in a case involving endangered wildlife

Shaanxi Rural Network-Shaanxi Rural News (Correspondent Liu Deqing Luo Jun) On July 6, 2015, the Shangnan Court pronounced judgments in accordance with the law on the case of defendants Liu Liang, Gou Yu and Wang Xiao for illegally purchasing, transporting and selling 33 pythons and other precious and endangered wild animals, and sentenced the defendants Liu Liang, Gou Yu and Wang Xiao to 5 years, 10 years, and 3 years imprisonment (suspended for 5 years), and fined 20,000 yuan, 15,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan respectively; The wild animals involved in the case registered and kept in the "Cute Pet Ornamental Garden" of the Jinsixia Scenic Area shall be confiscated in accordance with law and handed over to the competent forestry department for handling; Confiscated 21,500 yuan of Money from Wang Xiao's sale of pythons in accordance with the law and handed them over to the State Treasury. It is reported that this case is the first case in this county.

Unemployed people Liu Liang (from Weicheng District, Xianyang City), Gou Yu (from Beilin District, Xi'an City), and Wang Xiao (from Yanliang District, Xi'an City) are all wildlife enthusiasts who raise wild animals such as pythons, tortoises, and lizards at home out of personal preference. On June 1, 2013, Liu Liang signed a cooperation agreement with Shangnan Jinsixia Tourism Development Co., Ltd. to operate the Golden Monkey Garden in the Jinsixia Scenic Area. On March 20, 2014, the company applied to the Forestry Department of Shaanxi Province for a domestication and breeding license for animals under national key protection. On April 14 of the same year, Liu Liang transported his pythons and other wild animals to the "Cute Pet Viewing Garden" opened by him in the Jinsixia Scenic Area. On June 4 of the same year, after receiving reports from the masses, the Shangluo City Forest Public Security Bureau registered all the above-mentioned wild animals and stored them on the spot according to law, and the next day Liu Liang surrendered. On September 1 of the same year, the Forestry Department of Shaanxi Province applied for a domestication and breeding permit for wild animals under national key protection for tourism development co., LTD. of The Jinsixia Management Committee of Shangnan County. According to the appraisal, the Burmese python and radiation-striped tortoises raised by Liu Liang are national key protected wild animals, and the reticulated python, leopard-print tortoise, blue-gold parrot, high-crowned chameleon, grassland monitor lizard, green iguana, etc. belong to the national second-level key protected wild animals. After investigation by the public security organs, Liu Liang, Gou Yu, and Wang Xiao were suspected of illegally purchasing, transporting, and selling rare and endangered wild animals, including 18 Burmese pythons and 1 radial-striped tortoise under national key protection, 8 reticulated pythons and ball pythons under national secondary key protection, and rare and endangered wild animals such as Burmese tortoises, red-legged tortoises, high-crowned chameleons, green iguanas, and blue-gold parrots.

After trial, the court held that the defendant Liu Liang violated the national wildlife protection laws and regulations by illegally acquiring and transporting 8 Burmese pythons and 1 radiation tortoise under national key protection, 4 reticulated pythons and 1 ball python of wild animals under national secondary key protection, 2 Burmese tortoises, 2 red-legged tortoises, 1 leopard tortoise, 1 Sulcata tortoise, 2 green iguanas, 1 plain monitor lizard, 1 shadow monitor lizard, 1 high-crowned chameleon, 1 blue-gold parrot, and 1 Argentine black-and-white Taiga lizard. His conduct has constituted the crime of illegally acquiring and transporting rare and endangered wild animals, and the circumstances are particularly serious. Defendant Gou Yu illegally purchased, transported, and sold 8 Burmese pythons, 1 national second-level key protected wild animal ball python, 3 leopard tortoises, 4 Natal hinged tortoises, and 1 leopard tortoise shell, and his conduct has constituted the crime of illegally acquiring and transporting rare and endangered wild animals, and the circumstances are particularly serious. Defendant Wang Xiao illegally acquired, transported, or sold 2 Burmese pythons under national first-level key protection wild animals and 2 reticulated pythons of wild animals under national second-level key protection, and his conduct has constituted the crime of illegally acquiring, transporting, and selling rare and endangered wild animals, and the circumstances are serious. The facts of the crime of the three defendants are established, the evidence is credible and sufficient, and they shall be punished in accordance with law. Defendant Liu Liang voluntarily surrendered after the incident and truthfully confessed the facts of the crime, which is an act of voluntary surrender; Defendants Liu Liang and Wang Xiao assisted in the arrest of other criminal suspects after arriving at the case, and they had meritorious performance, so they may be given a mitigated punishment in accordance with law. Defendant Liu Liang's defender argued that he only loved reptiles and bought and bred them, not for profit, was different from hunting and profit-making, and had self-surrender and meritorious performance, so this court requested that Liu Liang's punishment be mitigated. Defendant Gou Yu's defender argued that Gou Yu, as an intermediary, helped Wang Xiao to acquire two reticulated pythons from Zou Zhengshen that should not be counted into Gou Yu's crimes, and the view that Gou Yu was requested to be given a lighter punishment was adopted by this court. Defendant Wang Xiao's ability to truthfully confess the facts of the crime after arriving at the case is a confession, and he may be given a lenient punishment in accordance with law and a suspended sentence shall be applied. The court then rendered the above judgment in accordance with law on the basis of the nature and circumstances of the defendants' crimes and the degree of harm to society.