Spending thousands of yuan to eat rare or endangered animals is considered a status symbol among some of China’s wealthiest people – but a new law will land people who chow down on the listed species in jail for 10 years.
A new interpretation of the criminal law passed this week “clears up ambiguities about buyers of prey of illegal hunting” , meaning people found eating protected animals face jail sentences ranging from three years to more than 10 years.
China currently lists 420 species as rare or endangered, including the panda, golden monkeys, Asian black bears and pangolins.
A spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission told state newswire Xinhua:
“Eating rare wild animals is not only bad social conduct but also a main reason why illegal hunting has not been stopped despite repeated crackdowns. We hope this will help in deterring people from buying rare meat”.
While China already promises harsh fines and jail sentences for people who catch, kill, traffic, buy and sell the animals, it has until now remained unclear on the potential consequences for eating them.
