Original title: If it ceases to be the “Three Haves”, will wild boars still be protected by law?
“If wild boars are removed from the national’Three Haves’ Protected Animal List, wild boars cannot be protected under the current Wild Animal Protection Law.” Professor Yang Zhaoxia, director of the Ecological Law Research Center of Beijing Forestry University, said that the existing “Wild Animal Protection Law” The Animal Protection Law is protected in accordance with the list, and with the gradual improvement of my country’s wildlife protection legislation, in the near future, earthworms and other general animals may be included in the protection of the Wildlife Protection Law in accordance with the principle of universal protection. Scope.
On December 10, in the “List of Terrestrial Wild Animals with Important Ecological, Scientific, and Social Values (Draft for Comment)” issued by the National Forestry and Grass Administration, “wild boars in the family Suidae of Artiodactyla” did not appear in the document. On December 12, the reporter interviewed relevant experts on ecological law and wild boar hazard prevention and control, as well as hunters who hunt legally on the front line. If wild boars are removed from the “Three Haves” Wildlife List, it will be a dynamic adjustment to the ethnic group. However, focusing on the construction of ecological civilization, it may be more necessary for the overall improvement of the wildlife protection legal system.
“Pig Disaster” more and more pilots have been launched for prevention and control
In Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, in August, the rice picked up the ears of the water spirit. Wild boars with manes roared down from the mountain in groups, arching their long mouths, trampling the rice fields into a silt field. The local Zhenfei hunting club has 10 guns, 12 team members, and 180 hunting dogs. It hunts more than 200 wild boars every year.
During the harvest season in August and September, Wang Zhenfei, the president of the hunting club, received more than 100 calls a day on average. The villagers would call for help from the Zhenfei Hunting Club if they were killed by wild boars. “A phone call represents a family’s field, which has been ruined by wild boars. There are too many wild boars now.” Wang Zhenfei sighed that the “pig disaster” was spreading and hurt the farmers who were farming in the mountains.
Wild boars caught by Zhenfei Farmers Hunting Agency in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province.Photo courtesy of the intervieweeAccording to data released by Nanyang City, Henan Province on July 28, 37 towns and villages were affected by wild boars, 20,509 mu of farmland was affected, and economic losses amounted to 22.85 million yuan. Since 2016, major indicators such as the number of incidents of wild boars causing harm, the area of farmland harmed and economic losses have been increasing year by year, and the flooding of wild boars has become an important factor endangering agricultural production.
Wild boar shopping, entering the campus, and entering the hospital are no longer new. In forest areas lacking natural enemies such as tigers and wolves, wild boars have become unscrupulous “canopy marshals”. Take Heilongjiang Province as an example. In less than ten years after hunting was banned in the forest areas of the province in 1995, the number of wild boar populations surveyed in Heilongjiang has exceeded 25,000, with an annual increase rate of about 7.4%. In Shaanxi, according to a survey conducted by the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Zoology in 2018, the number of wild boars in the province exceeded 120,000.
For thousands of years, the game between man and wild boar has never stopped. In traditional society, adult men in the village need to hold clubs and lasso, risking their lives to take turns to guard the mountains. In modern society, hunting methods are more lethal. In November of this year, the couples Wu and Hu, who used power grids to hunt wild boars in Nanyang City, Henan Province, were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment for their own farmland was destroyed. Six months, one year a year, arousing hot discussion on the Internet.
This year, the National Forestry and Grass Administration launched comprehensive pilot projects for the prevention and control of wild boar hazards in 14 provinces (regions) including Shanxi, Sichuan, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hebei, Guangdong, Shaanxi, Hunan, Hubei, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Ningxia. The pilot areas are required to strengthen prevention and control efforts and continuously improve the compensation system. Hunting teams set up in the pilot area need to undergo strict examination of their gun qualifications and hunt according to the amount standard each year.
Species regulation balances ecology and economy
On December 12, Zhang Minghai, a member of the National Forestry and Grass Administration’s comprehensive pilot expert group for the prevention and control of wild boar hazards, and professor of the College of Wildlife and Natural Reserves of Northeast Forestry University, told reporters that if wild boars are no longer the national “three-have” protected animal, it means the country Protected terrestrial wild animals that are useful or have important economic and scientific research value, but in some areas where wild boars are flooded, they still cannot be killed at will. They should also be appropriately planned and step-by-step under the coordination of relevant departments. hunting.
“You must know that the existence of the wild boar group has a certain meaning. The wild boar is a key point of the forest ecosystem and plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining the stability of the forest ecosystem; and the wild boar also has a certain economic value. For example, wild boars are the ancestors of domestic pigs and have the effect of improving domestic pig breeds. Therefore, wild boars cannot be over-hunted.” Zhang Minghai said, but on the other hand, if the number of wild boars in the area is too large, once it threatens people’s For production and living safety, appropriate hunting should be carried out to adjust the population to an ecological-economic threshold. This is not only to protect wild animals, but also to take into account the interests of the people, so as to realize the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
Crops fell by wild boars in Daguping Village, Foping County, Shaanxi Province.Photo courtesy of the intervieweeHow to understand the ecological-economic threshold? Zhang Minghai said that, on the one hand, the size of a certain harmful wild animal population should be adjusted to a suitable range below the environmental capacity of the species and above the minimum living population, and to ensure that the population can perform normally in the natural ecosystem. Ecological function; on the other hand, the threat or damage to humans and economic property caused by the regulated population size of the species should be within an acceptable range, and to ensure that humans and wild animals live in harmony. The value of the population of this species determined on the basis of the comprehensive needs of these two aspects is the ecological-economic threshold for the prevention and control of wildlife hazards.
Some experts also said that for villagers living near wildlife reserves, their attitude towards wildlife protection determines the number of wild animals to a certain extent. “If the interests of the residents of the wildlife distribution area are ignored, Then, there will be endless conflicts between residents and wild animals. To promote the protection of wild animals, the interests of the residents must be placed in an important position, forming a virtuous circle of mutual promotion between the community economy in the wild animal distribution area and the protection of wild animals. This may be the current development direction of wildlife protection.”
Improve the law and establish a universal protection system
“At present, if you want to hunt wild boars at will, it is not allowed by law.” Yang Zhaoxia said that the draft “Three Haves” protection list has not yet been formally implemented, and wild boars are still protected by the Wild Animal Protection Law. According to relevant legal documents, illegal hunting of more than 20 terrestrial “three animals” will be filed. Article 32 of the Wildlife Protection Law stipulates that hunting in sanctuary areas, hunting periods, or using prohibited tools and methods Where wild animals are caught, the prey, hunting tools, and illegal gains shall be confiscated by the wildlife administrative department and a fine shall be imposed; if the circumstances are serious and constitute a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the provisions of Article 341 of the Criminal Law.
Article 2 of the current “Wildlife Protection Law” stipulates that the wild animals protected by this law refer to rare and endangered terrestrial and aquatic wild animals and terrestrial wild animals with important ecological, scientific and social values. “In other words, the existing “Wild Animal Protection Law” is protected in accordance with the list and adopts the principle of key protection. Wild boars are not originally precious and endangered terrestrial wild animals. If the name is removed, the current Wild Animal Protection Law cannot protect wild boars.” Yang Zhaoxia said.
Yang Zhaoxia said that from the general trend, my country’s protection of wild animals is becoming more and more stringent. On February 24, 2020, the 16th meeting of the 13th National People’s Congress The Committee’s Decision on Completely Banning the Trade of Illegal Wild Animals, Eliminating the Bad Habits of Wild Animals, and Effectively Protecting the People’s Life, Health and Safety. The focus is on a total ban on wild animals. At the legal level, this is to prevent the over-eating of wild animals from triggering public The security issue will undoubtedly help promote my country’s ecological civilization construction objectively.
“The existing Wildlife Protection Law does not protect wild animals that are not on the list, such as earthworms and fireflies.” Yang Zhaoxia said that at present, some places use electric earthworm machines to shock the earthworms in the soil and eat them, which is likely to cause Ecological issues such as soil compaction; there are also fireflies exhibitions in some places. Volunteers and environmental organizations want to crack down on such illegal activities, but they cannot find a legal basis, because earthworms, fireflies, bats, etc. are not the current Wildlife Protection Law. Animals that are fasted and protected. But in fact, earthworms, bats and fireflies are of great significance to ecological protection and public health safety.
“Our country is currently revising the Wildlife Protection Law, and the new Wildlife Protection Law may be able to solve these problems.” Yang Zhaoxia said that the future Wildlife Protection Law should adhere to the principle of combining key protection and general protection. , Not only protect key protected wild animals such as pandas, golden monkeys, and crested ibis, but also have a bottom line of protection for general wild animals that are not included in the list, such as earthworms and fireflies. “Yang Zhaoxia said that even wild animals that are not on the list are part of the ecosystem, have corresponding niches and ecological values, and cannot be hunted on a large scale or extinct.
Beijing News reporter Zhao Lixin Cao Jingrui
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