Through the new crown pneumonia epidemic, "fasting on wild animals" has become the consensus of everyone, but can you just eat it?
Here, Yun Guanjun clearly told everyone that buying precious and endangered wild animals to raise as pets also constitutes a crime.
unbelief? Yun Guanjun gives you an example to make it clear.
Basic facts of the case
Between March and August 2019, defendant Liu Moulong purchased 2 Siamese crocodiles, 1 Herman tortoise, 1 Burmese tortoise, 1 Mexican blunt-mouthed salamander, and 1 Honduran curly-haired spider on the online platform or from a WeChat friend, all of which were live animals.
After identification, the above animals are all protected species listed in the Annex Catalogue of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, with a total value of about RMB 16,000.
The court held that Liu Moulong illegally purchased rare and endangered wild animals under key national protection for the purpose of breeding, and his behavior constituted the crime of illegally purchasing rare and endangered wild animals. In view of the fact that Liu Moulong is a first-time offender, and he was purchased and raised out of love for animals, it is different from hunting, eating or buying for profit, and he can confess his guilt frankly after his arrest, and has a deep repentance. Accordingly, the court sentenced him to ten months in prison, suspended for one year, and fined him 5,000 yuan.
In this case, Liu Moulong's original intention in buying Animals such as Siamese crocodiles and Herman tortoises was to raise them for personal liking, but his actions also constituted a crime.
According to relevant laws and regulations, the crime of illegally acquiring or selling rare and endangered wild animals is a crime, and as long as there is an illegal acquisition or sale of rare and endangered wild animals, it constitutes a crime.
Relevant laws
Article 341 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China Whoever illegally hunts or kills rare or endangered wild animals under key national protection, or illegally acquires, transports or sells rare or endangered wild animals under key national protection and their products, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also be fined;
Article 72:Where criminals sentenced to short-term detention or fixed-term imprisonment of less than three years meet the following conditions, a suspended sentence may be pronounced, and a suspended sentence shall be pronounced for persons under the age of 18, pregnant women, and persons who have reached the age of seventy-five:
(1) The circumstances of the crime are relatively minor;
(ii) Shown remorse;
(iii) There is no risk of re-offending;
(iv) Declare that the probation does not have a significant adverse effect on the community in which it resides.
The pronouncement of a suspended sentence may, on the basis of the circumstances of the crime, and at the same time prohibit criminals from engaging in specific activities during the probationary period of probation, entering specific areas and places, and contacting specific people.
If a criminal who has been given a suspended sentence is sentenced to an additional sentence, the additional sentence must still be enforced.
Article 15 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China: Where criminal suspects or defendants voluntarily and truthfully confess their crimes, admit the facts of the alleged crimes, and are willing to accept punishment, they may be given a lenient disposition in accordance with law.
Therefore, wild animals are not what you want to buy, especially precious and endangered wild animals, which need everyone's key protection. Otherwise, the end of wanton behavior is to break the law and challenge the bottom line of the law.
Regarding The case of Liu Moulong, what is the basis for the judge's judgment, let's see what the procurator said.
Prosecutor's Comments
I. According to Article 1 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Criminal Cases involving the Destruction of Wildlife Resources, "acquisition" includes purchases for the purpose of making profits and for self-use; "precious and endangered wild animals": including wild animals under national first- and second-level protection included in the list of wildlife under key national protection, wild animals listed in Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and the above-mentioned species domesticated and bred.
2. Defendant Liu Moulong's illegal acquisition of rare and endangered wild animals violates the first paragraph of article 341 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the facts of the crime are clear, the evidence is credible and sufficient, and he shall be pursued for criminal responsibility for the crime of illegally purchasing rare and endangered wild animals. However, considering that the defendant purchased it for the love of the animal and raised it, which is different from hunting, eating or buying for profit, and that all the animals seized were live animals and did not cause harm, the punishment may be mitigated as appropriate.
III. Defendant Liu Moulong confessed guilt after his return to the case and voluntarily signed the "Affidavit of Admitting Guilt and Accepting Punishment", showing profound remorse; in view of the fact that he is a first-time offender, the subjective malignancy is small, the circumstances of the crime are relatively minor, his behavior has not yet caused serious consequences, and the harm to society is small, and the application of a suspended sentence will not have a major adverse impact on the community in which he lives, he may be given a lighter or mitigated punishment in accordance with law, and a suspended sentence may be applied.
Good reminder
According to the analysis of the illegal acquisition of rare and endangered wild animals handled by Yun Guanjun in recent years, in addition to the purchase for restaurant sales and consumption, a considerable proportion of them are used as "pets" like Liu Moulong in this case, for such cases, there are several characteristics: First, the buyers involved in the case are mostly teenagers, or even school students; second, the objects of sale and purchase involved in the case are not common and well-known wild animals, but precious and endangered wild animals that the public is prone to mistakenly think of as "pets", such as baby fish, tortoises, " Little Dinosaurs" and so on. Unscrupulous merchants often take advantage of the psychological and cognitive weaknesses of buyers' "pet fever" to cater to customers, labeling rare and endangered wild animals as "pets" and pretending to be ordinary domestic pets for peddling; third, the transaction method is often carried out through online shopping.
Therefore, Yun Guanjun here reminds everyone that we must improve our legal awareness, and when buying animals and pets, we must understand the breed in advance, avoid committing crimes due to ignorance, and do not know the law and break the law. At the same time, we should also remind parents that when children shop online and raise pets, they should pay attention to keeping an eye on them and never step on the thunder.
Editor-in-charge: Wu Ziyan
Editor: Lee Song Belt