Yangzi Evening News (correspondent Wang Yu reporter Liu Liu) saw the law popularization leaflet, the tortoise buyer learned that he bought a second-class protected animal to take the initiative to report the case, to help the police find sellers and suppliers. The police found that although the supplier had a breeding company, the "Domestication and Breeding Permit" of the forestry department had expired, and the seller did not have any qualifications, and the legal became illegal, and both were prosecuted by the Nanjing Gulou District People's Procuratorate. In December 2019, the verdict was pronounced on the case of Ying Xuanlin and Gao Mingyu illegally selling rare and endangered wild animals.
The tortoise bought online turned out to be a second-class protected animal
Li Ming, the front desk manager of a hotel in Nanjing, pondered raising an ornamental animal such as a turtle or goldfish at the front desk, so he opened the browser and entered keywords such as "turtle farming" in the search box to find a seller. After Li Ming selected the turtle species, he paid the fee and received the goods a few days later. Later, when Li Ming went out to buy glass jars for the turtle, he met volunteers who were promoting wildlife protection knowledge. After a simple comparison, Li Ming found that the turtle he bought from the Internet was very similar to the herman tortoise, a protected animal printed on the promotional materials. Subsequently, Li Ming returned home and searched the Internet, which confirmed his judgment even more, and rushed to the public security organ to report the case, expressing his willingness to provide clues related to the seller and assist the public security organ in solving the case. After identification, the turtle purchased by Li Ming online is the Hermann tortoise, which is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (cites, 2017 edition), and is a national second-level key protected wild animal.
Tortoises handed over to the Wildlife Conservation Center for rescue
Follow the vine to find the seller
In June 2018, the Gulou Branch of the Nanjing Municipal Public Security Bureau filed a case for investigation. According to the mechanism for the rapid linkage of food, drug and environmental resource cases, the Gulou District Procuratorate intervened in the case in advance in accordance with the law after receiving the case notification. Later that month, in Foshan, Guangdong Province, the public security organs arrested Gao Mingyu, the seller of the Herman tortoise that sold to Li Ming. At Gao Mingyu's residence, the public security organs seized a number of tortoises. After identification, the seized turtles are Sulcata tortoises, red-legged tortoises, Aldabra tortoises, hermann tortoises, all of which are listed in Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (cites, 2017 edition), and are national second-level key protected wild animals. Subsequently, the public security organs followed the vine and arrested Gao Mingyu's Shangjia Yingxuanlin at the Huanggang Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.
In order to ensure that the seized tortoises were effectively rescued, the Gulou District Procuratorate and the public security organs carefully studied the relevant issues and consulted experts in wildlife protection. After communication and contact, the above-mentioned tortoises were handed over to the Wildlife Rescue Center of Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo and the Guangdong Wildlife Rescue Center for rescue. It is reported that they are currently in better shape.
Domesticated tortoises should be domesticated and bred by forest companies
He still sells tortoises to unqualified customers after the license expires
The reporter learned that Ying Xuanlin established a breeding company in Dongguan in May 2014, with the scope of business being domesticated and breeding, selling tortoises and other national second-level protected wild animals, and subsequently obtained the "Domestication and Breeding License" issued by the forestry department according to the application. The following year, the forestry department approved the application of the breeding company that should be selected to acquire and sell a certain number of Sulcata tortoises, red-legged tortoises, leopard tortoises and other wild animals under national second-level protection. According to the regulations, the sales license is valid for one year each time, and the license should be obtained again before it can be sold.
According to Ying Xuanlin's account, after the application was approved according to the regulations, he successively purchased tortoises from Hainan, Africa and other places for domestication and breeding, and then sold them. In the course of business, he also joined the local turtle breeding industry association and signed the "Postgraduate Research and Education Cooperation Agreement" with the Amphibian and Reptile Research Institute of a university in a foreign country.
On January 1, 2017, the revised Wildlife Protection Law was officially implemented, and in the second half of that year, the administrative permit for the sale of wildlife under national key protection by the Forest Selection Company expired. Since the Wildlife Protection Law has strict restrictions on the purchaser and the purchase situation, and the corresponding approval conditions for sales permits are more stringent than before, the forestry department has not approved the sales application of the selected forest company.
According to the regulations, the breeding company that should be selected for forest cannot sell tortoises to the outside world at this time. However, Ying Xuanlin still chose to continue to sell tortoises, according to Ying Xuanlin's account, there are some individual customers in his company, and some of these customers do not have relevant qualifications, which is more typical is Gao Mingyu.
Two people were sentenced for illegally selling rare and endangered wild protected animals
Based on the facts and evidence of the case ascertained, the procurator in charge of the investigation held that the behavior of Ying Xuanlin and Gao Mingyu was indeed suspected of illegally selling precious and endangered wild protected animals, but combined with the specific circumstances of the crime, the social harm and destructiveness of the two people's behavior to the species were less than those of other wild animals that were sold pure wild animals that grew and bred in the wild, and should be distinguished from other similar criminal acts. Based on the circumstances after the case of Ying Xuanlin and Gao Mingyu, the Gulou District Procuratorate believes that the punishment of the two can be mitigated according to law. In December 2018, the Gulou District Procuratorate indicted Xiang Xuanlin and Gao Mingyu on suspicion of illegally selling rare and endangered wild animals, and suggested that the court could mitigate their punishment.
After the court held a trial, taking into account the specific criminal circumstances of the case and the degree of harm to society, the court held that Ying Xuanlin and Gao Mingyu could reduce their punishment in accordance with the law, and in December 2019, they made a first-instance judgment, sentencing Ying Xuanlin to three years' imprisonment, four years' probation, and a fine of 300,000 yuan for the crime of illegally selling rare and endangered wild animals; and sentenced Gao Mingyu to two years in prison, suspended for three years, and fined 30,000 yuan to recover illegal gains. At present, the court of first instance is submitting the judgment to the SPC for approval in accordance with the law.