Unscrupulous vendors sell sticky bird nets online
Expert: This kind of net is very lethal to birds
March 3rd is World Wildlife Day.
On the morning of the same day, Beijing Daxing Court held a public hearing on a criminal incidental civil public interest litigation case involving the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals.
The defendant, Guo, used the sticky bird net to catch 98 birds overnight, including many wild animals under the second-class national key protection.
And Guo's hunting behavior also led to the death of more than 80 birds.
A reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily found that many unscrupulous vendors sold "sticky bird nets" on the Internet.
Selling prohibited hunting gear online is illegal for sellers, experts say.
trial
Nearly 100 man sticking birds caused more than 80 deaths
Guo is nearly 60 years old and was taken to court at 9:00 am yesterday. He lowered his head and said, "I bought the net online, and I just want red neck (red-throated songbird) and blue-necked (blue-throated songbird). , I released some of the other birds I stuck to, and sold some, I really don’t know that I made such a big mistake!”
The prosecution accused Guo that on the afternoon of September 19, 2022, in a field in Xihongmen Town, Daxing District, Beijing, he set up sticky nets and traps about 200 meters away to illegally hunt wild birds.
When the net was collected the next day, a total of 98 birds were caught.
After identification, among the birds captured by Guo, there were 9 red-throated songbirds, 7 blue-throated songbirds, and 1 skylark, all of which were national second-class key protected wild animals; in addition, 52 small buntings and 4 sparrows were captured , 7 tree pipits, 1 quail, and 1 black-browed reed warbler, terrestrial wild animals that are beneficial to the state or have important economic and scientific research values.
In addition to the capture, the prosecution found that in the same year, Guo also illegally sold 5 wild birds (1 red-throated songbird, 2 coal tits, and 2 orioles) for 320 yuan in Daxing District, Beijing.
After identification, the red-throated songbird is a second-class national key protected wild animal, and the coal tit and yellow finch are terrestrial wild animals that are beneficial to the state or have important economic and scientific research values.
The prosecution believes that Guo committed the crime of endangering precious and endangered wild animals, and recommends a fixed-term imprisonment.
The public prosecution agency, as the public interest litigation prosecutor, also sued Guo to compensate for the loss of wild animal resources, and publicly apologized in the media.
During the trial, Guo confessed to his criminal behavior, pleaded guilty and repented in court.
In the end, the judge announced an adjournment and the sentencing will be scheduled at an optional date.
After the trial, Sun Chuanxi, assistant prosecutor of the Sixth Procuratorate Department of the Daxing Procuratorate, who was in charge of the case, revealed to a reporter from Beiqing Daily, "This time, Guo caught 98 birds in more than one night, but only 14 survived. All the others are dead."
investigation
"Excellent sticky bird nets kill all sizes"
A reporter from Beiqing Daily searched for the term "sticky bird net" on three large online shopping platforms, and found that all of them had been blocked.
All three apps display "no search content", and at the same time, an online shopping platform will pop up a legal reminder webpage "no illegal hunting".
However, if you use similar words, such as "anti-bird" and "wild bird", related product links will appear.
Subsequently, reporters from Beiqing Daily conducted consultations on different platforms as willing buyers.
Most of the merchants responded with prompts such as "only protection, no harm to birds, no bird capture".
After sending reminder messages, individual merchants will also give customers information on how to choose a network and how to deploy skills for "sticky birds". "grab" and other words, but it means that it can provide "sticky bird net" product links.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily clicked on the link and found that although the title of the link was "Anti-Bird Network", the merchant said, "The products inside are sticky to birds and have pockets." The price of the product ranges from 13.93 yuan to 79.93 yuan.
In addition, some merchants kept hinting that reporters should call the hotline on the home page.
After the Beijing Youth Daily reporter called the phone number provided by the other party, the other party said, "We dare not sell the professional sticky bird online store on the online shopping platform, so we can only buy it on WeChat."
In addition to the above-mentioned merchants selling "sticky bird nets" under the name of "anti-bird nets", a reporter from Beiqing Daily found that after multiple searches in the app, a link to "bird nets" would automatically appear.
Although the title of this kind of link is "Anti-Bird Net", the cover picture is a picture of several birds being glued to the Internet, and it is also emphatically marked with "Boutique Sticky Bird Net", "Sparrows, Turtledoves, Pigeons, Thrushes" and "Dou Shen". Silk soft" and other introductions.
What's more, the words "big and small kill" and "bird net" are marked on the cover.
The sticky bird nets in the two links include different sizes such as 6 meters long, 2 meters high, 50 meters long, and 6 meters high. They are also divided into prices ranging from 8 yuan to 65 yuan. The store with the most sales is as high as More than a thousand strokes.
In addition to "sticky bird net", as an auxiliary bird lure, it can also be searched with similar words on some online shopping platforms.
expert
The sticky bird net is completely different from the anti-bird net
"There is a difference between sticky bird nets and anti-bird nets, but some businesses put photos of sticky bird nets on them, and people who don't understand can't see it at all." Zhu Baoguang, director of the Tianjin Great Bustard Protected Area, told Beiqing Daily that regular ones Anti-bird nets are mainly used in orchards and crop fields. The mesh wires are thick and large, and the colors are relatively bright, mainly white, red, and blue. Birds have a natural fear of bright colors and generally will not hit them, even if It will not cause death if you hit it. The most important thing is that the anti-bird net is single-sided after it is propped up, and there is no deep pocket. The purpose is not to restrain the birds.
The bird net is just the opposite. The nets are divided into multiple layers. They are all fine meshes and small nets, and the color is mainly black. There are deep pockets after being propped up. Once the birds hit the nets, they will be entangled. Or slip into a deep pocket, almost certain death without human rescue.
"The sticky bird net is also called the Juehu net. This kind of bird-catching net is very lethal to birds. Once a flying bird touches the net, it is difficult to break free." Li Shuai, a policeman from the Forest Brigade of the Beijing Daxing Public Security Bureau, told Beiqing Daily Reporter, in daily work, the public security organs have always adopted a high-pressure posture against illegal hunting and catching of wild animals.
Sticky bird net is one of the more harmful ones among many hunting tools.
Especially in the spring of bird breeding season, under normal circumstances, some birds migrate in groups. If you add the assistance of bird lures and play specific bird calls, once this kind of bird catching net is set up, it will It will "kill the gate" to catch a large number of birds, the mortality rate is extremely high, and every time a bird is caught, it means that a nest of birds is lost, so the sticky bird net directly threatens biodiversity.
lawyer
It is illegal to buy or sell sticky bird nets
Zhao Hang, a lawyer from Beijing Weiheng Law Firm, said that in recent years, some people with ulterior motives have purchased sticky bird nets and placed them in bird gathering places for the purpose of sticking and catching birds, and even hunting wild protected animals in violation of laws and regulations.
He said that my country's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" has clear regulations on the protection of birds, and the "Wildlife Protection Law" also prohibits illegal hunting, selling, and consumption of wild protected animals.
my country's "Criminal Law" further stipulates that anyone who illegally hunts or kills rare and endangered wild animals under national key protection, or illegally purchases, transports, and sells precious and endangered wild animals under national key protection and their products shall be sentenced to a fixed-term sentence of not more than five years. Imprisonment or criminal detention and a concurrent fine; if the circumstances are serious, a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years and a concurrent fine; if the circumstances are especially serious, a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years and a concurrent fine or confiscation of property.
Whoever, in violation of hunting regulations, hunts in a sanctuary or during a sanctuary, or uses prohibited tools or methods, and destroys wild animal resources, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or a fine.
Lawyer Zhao Hang said that if buyers buy sticky bird nets to catch wild animals under national key protection, they will be subject to administrative punishment in accordance with the provisions of the "Wild Animal Protection Law", or they may violate the "Criminal Law" and constitute a crime.
If the seller knows that the purpose of the buyer's purchase is to illegally hunt rare and protected animals, but still sells the sticky bird net to the buyer for small profits, even if the purpose is not specified, as long as the relevant department determines that it is a hunting tool that is prohibited by law illegal.
(Reporter Wang Haoxiong Coordinator/Jiang Shuo)