Five typical cases involving biodiversity protection were made public by the Supreme People's Court on July 15. The batch of cases demonstrates a judicial approach that combines punishment for endangering rare and endangered wildlife with restoration of damaged ecosystems.
In the case of A Someone endangering rare and endangered wild animals, the defendant killed five snow leopards, a first-class national protected wild animal, and was ultimately sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of 12 years by the court. In another case of Yang and others endangering rare and endangered wild animals, regarding the killing of oriental white storks, also a first-class national protected wild animal, the court conducted a public trial via live broadcast to achieve the legal education effect of "trying one case and educating the public."
The spread of invasive alien species also drew judicial attention. In one case, the invasive plant Lantana camara spread in urban green spaces and displaced local plants, and the court ordered the relevant administrative organs to fully perform their statutory duties in preventing and controlling invasive alien species, so as to promote collaborative biodiversity governance and safeguard national biosecurity.
In terms of ecological restoration, the courts adhered to the principle of ecological priority and provided various restoration options, including labor compensation, for different types of ecosystems. In one case, Hu illegally picked wild plants, disrupting their population structure, and the court guided Hu to replant the wild plants and perform labor compensation as a way of restoring the tropical rainforest ecosystem.
The protection of genetic resources of rare and endangered wild animals was also highlighted. In the case of Xi and Yi endangering rare and endangered wild animals, the two illegally captured three wild yak calves, a first-class national protected wild animal, and were sentenced to six years and five and a half years in prison respectively, to warn herding communities and the public to fully recognize the legal consequences of harming wild animals.