On April 29, the Research Department of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) organized a seminar on "Asian Elephants and Anti-Wild Animal Cruelty". The seminar invited several experts and scholars in the field of wildlife protection and environmental justice to participate in the discussion. Professor Cao Mingde of the China University of Political Science and Law analyzed and expounded his opinion from the perspective of the judicial field.

His speech is as follows:

First of all, an Asian elephant is born in a zoo, but is its mother a wild Asian elephant? If the Asian elephant is the first generation to be born in a zoo, it is a wild elephant. Conversely, if it is not the first generation to be born in a zoo, is it still a wild animal? This is the premise of our discussion because our topic today is against cruelty to wild animals. At present, there are many blanks in our country's legislation on the legal regulation of cruelty to wild animals. Although there are some provisions in the Wildlife Protection Law concerning the prevention of cruelty to wild animals, the rules are rather vague and lack corresponding legal responsibilities. This is the first problem.

The second question is what constitutes cruelty to wild animals?

This is the key. Currently, we do not have specific legislation to prevent cruelty to animals, including wild animals. 

Legislation against animal cruelty has progressed slowly over the years. From the perspective of academic discussion, we must first clarify what is animal cruelty, that is, how to define the term "animal cruelty". ??From many animal cruelty incidents, we can see that there are all kinds of animal cruelty behaviors, such as electric shock, scalding, burning, skinning, stepping on, beating, and even driving to cliffs and etc... But in any case, it is difficult to exhaust the ways of animal cruelty, so I suggest that the cruelty behaviors should be listed and summarized.

So, how to summarize animal cruelty? I believe behavior that causes unnecessary suffering to an animal constitutes abuse. From the perspective of animal protection, animals should not be abused, but should also enjoy basic living conditions. This is the so-called animal welfare. ??

There is a lack of a unified law on wildlife and animal protection in China, and national-level legislation to regulate animal cruelty is urgently needed. From the point of view of legislative feasibility, I am in favor of a law against cruelty to animals or law to prevent cruelty to animals. From the perspective of practical needs and feasibility, amending the corresponding provisions of the Wildlife Protection Law cannot solve the problem of cruelty to animals. ?From a broader perspective, China needs special legislation against animal cruelty.

Original Chinese Article:https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/WW3Q4A_qrdrRrZYTNKEsZw

Translator:Daisy

Editor:Stan

Contact the editors: v10@cbcgdf.org;  +8617319454776

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