Article** Yanqing District People's Procuratorate.
During the harvest season, the grain in the crops and the fruits in the orchards attract many birds to peck at them, which is a headache. In order to protect the fruits of labor, some farmers choose to set up sticky bird nets in their orchards and fields, but when the greedy birds crash into the "sticky bird nets", you may also accidentally fall into the "legal net".
Case review. In July 2022, in order to prevent apples in their orchard from being pecked by birds, the defendants Han and his wife privately set up nets in the orchard to catch birds without the permission of the competent authorities, resulting in the death of a total of 11 birds as of September 2022. After identification, the hunted birds include the national first-class protected wild animal Saker falcon, the first-class wild protected animals in Beijing, the great spotted woodpecker, the white-backed woodpecker, the white-rumped swift and some "three haves" protected wild animals, etc., and the loss of related wildlife resources totaled 55,200 yuan. After the incident, the two defendants realized their mistake and signed the "Agreement on Compensation for Ecological and Environmental Damage" with the Beijing Yanqing District Landscaping Bureau, paying for all the losses of wildlife resources.
on the Internet, which has nothing to do with this case).
In February 2023, the Yanqing District Procuratorate prosecuted the defendant Han and his wife on suspicion of committing crimes against precious and endangered wildlife and illegal hunting.
The Yanqing District People's Court held at trial that the defendants Han and his wife committed the crimes of endangering precious and endangered wild animals and illegal hunting, and decided to jointly enforce the two crimes with a three-year fixed-term imprisonment, a three-year suspended sentence, and a fine of 4,000 yuan.
Links to legal provisions. According to Article 6 of the Wildlife Protection of the People's Republic of China, all organizations and individuals have the obligation to protect wild animals and their habitats. It is prohibited to illegally hunt, transport, or trade wild animals, and to destroy wildlife habitats.
According to Article 341 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, anyone who illegally hunts or kills rare or endangered wildlife under key national protection, or illegally purchases, transports, or kills rare or endangered wildlife under key national protection and the products thereof, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or short-term detention and shall also be fined;where the circumstances are serious, a sentence of between 5 and 10 years imprisonment and a concurrent fine is to be given;where the circumstances are especially serious, a sentence of 10 or more years imprisonment and a concurrent fine or confiscation of property is to be given.
Whoever violates hunting laws and regulations by hunting in prohibited areas, during prohibited hunting periods, or by using prohibited tools or methods, destroying wildlife resources, and the circumstances are serious, is to be sentenced to up to three years imprisonment, short-term detention, controlled release, or a fine.
According to the "Implementation Measures for the Prohibition of Hunting of Terrestrial Wild Animals in Beijing", hunting is prohibited throughout the whole year in Beijing, and the use of sticky nets, slingshots, ground bows, crossbows, and other hunting devices that are not directly operated by humans and endanger the safety of humans and animals is also prohibited.
Delay the small inspection tips.
Hunting wild animals will not only cause the loss of wildlife resources, but also may affect the entire ecological chain and endanger biodiversity. Although there is no subjective intention to hunt illegally in order to protect the orchard, the accidental injury of birds, some even national-level protected birds, is also an act of destroying wildlife resources. Nowadays, most of the birds in China have been listed as protected animals, even such common birds as sparrows, have been included in the "List of Terrestrial Wild Animals Protected by the State as Beneficial or with Important Economic and Scientific Research Value", which can only be driven away, not killed.
The general public is reminded that during the hunting ban period and in the hunting ban area, even in one's own orchard and vegetable garden, it is illegal to use prohibited tools such as sticky nets and iron clips to hunt wild animals. If you want to prevent crops from being pecked by birds, it is recommended to use more friendly methods such as erecting scarecrows, hanging reflective tapes, and installing voice bird repellents to achieve bird repellent effects.