Chinese legislators gathering in Beijing for the country's key annual political event, the Two Sessions, have called for the urgent revision of China's wildlife protection law, so as to reduce public health risks and better protect wild animals.
On Friday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in his government work report that the country will crack down hard on the illegal hunting and trading of wild animals.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers the government work report on May 22, 2020. /Screenshot of CGTN video
During a press conference on Thursday, Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for the third session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), said the nation's legislators will revise the current law as fast as they can and plan to submit a revision by the latter half of the year for deliberation.
Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for the third session of the 13th National People's Congress, speaking during a press conference on May 21, 2020. /Screenshot of CGTN video
The concerns have been echoed by a number of NPC deputies.
According to the Chinese news website ThePaper.cn, Zhang Tianren, an entrepreneur from east China's Zhejiang Province, identified four issues in the country's current wildlife protection:
1. The current law does not address public health concerns as wild animals carry viruses that can jump to humans;
2. The consumption of wild animals remains a prominent problem, giving rise to poaching and illegal trading;
3. The industry of breeding wild animals remains chaotic, confusing the line between poached wild animals and artificially-bred animals;
4. Law enforcement still has loopholes, undermining the effect of the law.
Zhang also called for conservation efforts of the natural habitats of wild animals.
During an interview with another Chinese news website, yicai.com, Lin Tengjiao, an entrepreneur from east China's Fujian Province, called for stricter regulations on the breeding of wild animals for medical purposes. He noted that exploiting wild animals for the purpose of medication has become another major threat to wildlife in the country. Lin described the practice of removing a bear's gallbladder while the animal is still alive as "barbaric."
Bear's gallbladder is considered in the traditional medicine of many Asian countries to have medical properties, such as detoxicating. /VCG Photo
As the novel coronavirus outbreak was initially believed to be linked to wild animals, topics related to wildlife are prominent on the agenda of the annual Two Sessions.
(Cover image via VCG)
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