March 3, 2024 is the eleventh "World Wildlife Day". Protecting wild animals and plants is of great significance to protecting biodiversity and maintaining ecological balance. Recently, the Zhongshan District People’s Procuratorate of Dalian City filed a public prosecution for a multi-provincial case of endangering precious and endangered wild animals.

Aldabra giant tortoises, sulcata tortoises, radiated tortoises... these animals that can usually be seen in zoos have unexpectedly become "victims of wild animal cases" ". The "initiator" of this case was actually an Internet celebrity anchor who advertised on the live broadcast platform as "only doing science popularization and refusing to buy or sell."

< p>Li runs a tortoise breeding technology service Co., Ltd. in Shenyang. Since 2021, in order to expand his influence, he has broadcast live on a certain platform and successively released multiple short videos. The cute little turtles are sprouting and crawling in the breeding tank, with funny captions The beautiful scenery and music attracted many netizens to watch and leave comments such as "It's so cute" and "I want this". One video received more than 2,000 likes. This allowed Li to gradually smell "business opportunities", and he began to use keywords such as "cute pets at home" and "daily turtle raising" in his videos to attract the attention of netizens and form a fan base. Through irregular live broadcasts, it has accumulated more than 43,000 fans. In fact, many of the tortoises in Li's video are national first- and second-level protected animals, and individual breeding and sale are prohibited.

Ge, who lives in Zhongshan District, Dalian City, is an animal lover. When he saw the lively and cute "cute pet" in the video, he immediately wanted to own it. He researched the species of tortoises, and even though he knew they were nationally protected animals, he still took chances. He believed that as long as they were purchased and raised by individuals, they would be safe in small quantities, so he contacted Li online to determine the transaction price and then went to Shenyang to pick up the goods. I was filled with regret after being brought to justice.

After investigation, from 2021 to 2023, Li purchased, sold, and transported more than 20 national first- and second-level key protected tortoises, with a total appraisal value of more than 200,000 yuan. During this process, some tortoises died, and the whereabouts of many tortoises are unknown. The crime areas involved Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Shandong, and Guangdong. The Zhongshan District People's Procuratorate of Dalian City concluded after review that Li's behavior constituted a crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals, and has filed a public prosecution in the court. Since Ge did not cause the death of wild animals, all the tortoises involved were recovered, and a decision was made not to prosecute him after a public hearing.

< p>Prosecutors remind

Don’t cross the legal bottom line by raising pets. Before buying a pet, you should “keep your eyes open” to identify the type of animal. The more beautiful and exotic the animal, the more important it is to be aware that not all animals can be bought, sold and raised. Before conducting a transaction, you must check whether the animal is a nationally protected animal. Details can be obtained from the official website of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration. When you find others selling protected animals, do not buy them and call the police immediately. Please don't let "love" turn into "hurt"!