The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), together with the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the General Administration of Customs, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, held a symposium recently to study strengthening legal protection for live wild animals involved in cases.
The authorities reached a consensus at the symposium on establishing a robust transfer and rescue cooperation mechanism to collectively ensure the protection of live wild animals involved in cases. They jointly issued the meeting minutes titled Establishing a Sound Judicial Cooperation Mechanism for the Transfer and Rescue of Live Wild Animals Involved in Cases ahead of National Ecology Day, which fell on Aug 15.
The document adheres to the principles of prioritizing protection and integrated governance. It provides specific guidelines on information sharing and case transfer, evidence collection coordination, transfer and rescue of live wild animals, routine communication, inter-regional cooperation, as well as maximizing good practice.
The document specifies that, during judicial activities, if law enforcement and procuratorial agencies discover cases involving live wild animals that require shelter and care, they should promptly report the circumstances to the relevant wildlife protection authorities.
Wildlife protection authorities and customs, when identifying activities that may constitute criminal offenses, should promptly transfer the case to the public security authority and notify the corresponding procuratorate, according to the meeting minutes. Any relevant clues that may seriously harm national or public interests should be forwarded to the procuratorial agencies.
The document proposes guidelines on establishing a collaboration mechanism for the collection and preservation of criminal procedural evidence and the transfer of related live wild animals.
It mandates that law enforcement, procuratorial and judicial authorities should promptly complete evidence preservation work related to wild animals involved in any cases. Various departments should enhance cooperation by lawfully issuing procedures for the sealing, detention and confiscation of any live wild animals to provide a legal basis for rescue operations.
The document makes it clear that routine communication and inter-regional cooperation mechanisms should be established for all sectors. In cases involving wildlife that have been removed from their native regions, wildlife protection authorities and their designated institutions should conduct rescue operations in a prompt, scientific manner, paying due attention to the animal’s habits. When conditions permit, priority should be given to releasing the animals back into the wild.
The Wildlife Protection Law, which took effect on May 1, 2023, outlines the procedures and requirements for handling live wild animals during judicial proceedings. Judicial organs and relevant functional departments have already undertaken numerous cases.
The release of this document is important for strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation nationwide, and fostering a legal synergy for wildlife protection during the enforcement process.
