The Civil Public-Interest Litigation Case of People’s Procuratorate of Haikou City , Hainan Province Suing Zhou XX for Illegal Purchase of Rare or Endangered Wild Animals
The Civil Public-Interest Litigation Case of People’s Procuratorate of Haikou City , Hainan Province Suing Zhou XX for Illegal Purchase of Rare or Endangered Wild Animals
Keywords
Civil Public-Interest Litigation, Repair of Ocean Ecology, Compensation for Ecological Damage
Basic Facts
Around the year 2013, Zhou XX purchased from other parties by bartering some hawksbill turtles and green sea turtles, both Wild Animals under Special State Protection, and started breeding without obtaining any license from the competent authorities. The police found and seized on his farm 10 living green sea turtles, 5 living hawksbill turtles and the remains of 1 dead green sea turtle, and moved the living green sea turtles and hawksbill turtles to Hainan Tropical Ocean University Hainan Key Laboratory for Herpetological Research to care and train them in the “sea turtle conservation and research center” for release in the wild. The criminal verdict was that Zhou XX’s act of purchasing hawksbill turtles from other parties constituted the crime of illegally purchasing rare or endangered wild animals, that Zhou XX was sentenced to 8 months in prison with a fine of 30,000 yuan, and that the seized green sea turtles and other evidence were insufficient to incriminate him and therefore no punishment was applicable.
Procurator’s Performance of Duties
With regard to issues concerning the rescue, training and release of the turtles which were later kept and cared in the “sea turtle conservation and research center”, and the damage to and repair of the oceanic ecology, People’s Procuratorate of Haikou City , Hainan Province consulted the “sea turtle conservation and research center” for their expert opinions, and referred the case to Jiangsu Marine Fisheries Research Institute for ecological damage evaluation. On November 2, 2021, People’s Procuratorate of Haikou City , Hainan Province brought the case to Haikou Maritime Court and requested that Zhou XX compensate the loss of biological species resources, bear the relevant turtle caring and releasing expenses, and apologize to the society on provincial-level media outlets.
Court Rulings
Haikou Maritime Court and Hainan High People’s Court were the court of first instance and the court of second instance of this case, respectively. The courts held that Zhou XX’s illegal purchase of hawksbill turtles and illegal farming and breeding of green sea turtles had jeopardized the ecological environment of the ocean and should bear the costs for the repair of the biological resources and ecological environment, and ordered that Zhou XX pay within ten days of the effectiveness of the verdict 210,595 yuan as compensations for the damage to the ecological environment of the ocean, which would be paid to the State coffers for the caring and releasing expenses of the 15 living turtles as involved in this case or the repair of other ecological environment of the ocean, that Zhou XX apologize to the society within ten days of the effectiveness of the verdict on provincial-level media in Hainan, and that Zhou XX pay 6,400 yuan for evaluation expenses within ten days of the effectiveness of the verdict.
Significance
This is a civil public-interest litigation case that involves ecological damage resulting from illegal purchase of Wild Animals under Special State Protection. Hawksbill turtles and green sea turtles as involved in this case are flagship ocean species known as living fossils on the earth, and due to their rarity, they are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Appendix I. They play an important role in maintaining the biodiversity of ocean species and the equilibrium of the ecological system of the ocean. The defendant’s act of illegal purchase, farming and breeding damaged the wild animal resources and the ecological environment of the ocean and should bear the liability for compensating the ecological damage. When the living wild animals were found suitable for being released in the wild, the procuratorate and the courts upheld the philosophy of repairing the ecology in priority, made it their first option to train the seized animals for a wild life and to repair the ecological environment, sued and ruled that Zhou XX bear the expenses for the training and release, thus showing the ecological consciousness and ecological conservation wisdom in the protection of the ocean while safeguarding the blue ocean and azure sky by a multidimensional comprehensive judicial protection system.
