Proposal for the 2021 "Two Sessions" of the Green Conference.

Suggestions on strictly prohibiting tiger performances.

Proposal for the 2021 "Two Sessions" of the Green Conference.

We come from the Endangered Species Special Fund of the China Green Development Council to save performing animals. Our public welfare project advocates humane and scientific treatment of animals, is committed to improving the animal welfare of captive wild animals, and promoting the end of animal performances. This time, we put forward a proposal to strictly prohibit tiger performances for the "two sessions".

Cause of action:

Since the outbreak of the new crown, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has issued a decision requiring strict approval and quarantine of the non-edible use of wild animals. However, many wild animals, represented by tigers, are still performing mobile public performances on the streets in large numbers without approval. During 2020, there were also three safety accidents in which wild animal performances attacked and injured people. Last year, the basic court of Baihe Forest District in Jilin Province ruled a vicious case of illegally buying and selling 14 dead tigers.

Tigers are big cats at the top of the food chain, a flagship species and a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Wild tigers face problems such as habitat shrinkage and fragmentation, illegal poaching, and lack of prey. Since the 1980s, a large number of tigers have been artificially bred in my country, and the number has far exceeded the number of wild tigers. Due to the lack and irregularity of the current management mechanism, there is excessive commercial use of live tigers and tiger products, and the demand for tiger utilization has increased. At the same time, the threat of poaching wild tigers, smuggling, and illegal trade of tiger products has increased, endangering wild tigers around the world. safety.

Although the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People's Republic of China issued a zoo industry notice and the "National Zoo Development Outline" as early as 2010, requiring zoos to eliminate all forms of animal performances and stop zero-distance contact. However, it is limited to non-mandatory, so the implementation effect is not good. In the performance and utilization of wild animals represented by tigers, there are still erroneous demonstrations of zero-distance contact between humans and tigers, which is an entertainment behavior that has no scientific and educational significance, and is not conducive to the protection of wild animals and the construction of ecological civilization.

The specific questions are as follows:

1. Most of the performance venues are temporary venues that have not been professionally evaluated.

According to statistics from non-governmental public welfare projects on the network information sources of wild animal mobility exhibitions, in 282 wild animal exhibitions between June and December 2020, about 177 tigers wandered on the streets, of which 64.4% were in real estate marketing centers And other non-professional, non-fixed venues, such as Evergrande, Seazen Holdings, Country Garden, etc. These public performance venues do not meet industry standards such as the "Technical Regulations on Wild Animal Breeding and Management - Siberian Tiger" (LY/T 2199-2013), with poor facilities and no professional assessment, posing potential public safety hazards.

2. Second, the management is not in place, increasing the cost of administrative management and law enforcement.

Tigers are all wild animals under national first-level protection. The approval and management authority lies with the State Forestry and Grassland Bureau, while the law enforcement inspection lies with grassroots forestry and grassland departments. There is an information gap between the two, which increases the cost of administrative management and law enforcement. The vast majority of unapproved wild animal performances have not been administratively punished in accordance with Article 48 of the "Wild Animal Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", and they were simply expelled without causing serious social harm.

3. The management of the special tiger logo is not in place, and illegal trade continues.

From the Leizhou tiger eating case in 2014 to the Jilin case of illegal trade in dead tigers in 2020, in the breeding and management of tiger birth, transportation and death, there is a lack of implementation of special label management for live tigers, and lack of control over the flow of individual animals. Monitoring provides an opportunity for tigers to flow into the illegal trade, and at the same time increases the threat of poaching of wild populations. According to the feedback from the Central Seventh Ecological and Environmental Protection Inspection Group to the National Forestry and Grassland Bureau, the policy system is not strong enough to promote ecological protection. In 2018, the State Council issued the "Notice on Strictly Controlling the Operation and Utilization of Rhinoceros, Tigers and Their Products" (Guo Fa [2018] No. 36), which caused widespread controversy.

On December 13, 2018, Huang Caiyi, spokesperson of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration. Although it has publicly stated that it will suspend the introduction of supporting implementation rules for the notice, it will continue to strictly prohibit the use of tiger bones and rhino horns in medicine. However, the notice was not abolished, and changed from "prohibition" to "strict control", leaving a bigger opening for the tiger trade. In view of the current lack of governance capacity of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, live tigers use commercial secrets, label management is not in place, animals are difficult to trace according to law, and there is a lack of public participation. This may further intensify illegal trade and be detrimental to tiger protection.

Suggestions:

1. Tiger performances and close/zero-distance contact are clearly prohibited to ensure the safety of humans and animals. In particular, it is necessary to clearly prohibit the use of terrestrial wild animals in shopping malls, real estate buildings, streets and other non-fixed, non-professional places that do not meet the relevant standards for wild animal breeding. Refer to Article 7 of the "Decision of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress on the Comprehensive Prohibition of Illegal Trading and Eating of Wild Animals" and "Notice of the Fujian Provincial Forestry Department on Printing and Distributing Management Measures for Wildlife Shows in Fujian Province" (Minlin [2016] 16 No).

2. Clearly prohibit the commercial breeding of tigers for the purpose of performance, and completely stop the issuance of artificial breeding permits, business utilization permits, business licenses, approval documents, and special signs for the purpose of animal performance and utilization.

3. Establish a whole-process supervision system for the use of wild animal performances and products, including strict approval in advance, transparency and openness, encouraging social supervision, surprise on-site inspections during the event, smooth public reporting, and strict punishment according to the law after the event.

4. According to the requirements of double publicity of administrative licensing and administrative punishment, publicity standards, etc., it is suggested that the State Forestry and Grassland Administration should improve the quality of information disclosure, including the main content of the license, the special identification of individual animals and other information, and effectively protect the traceability of wild animals in accordance with the law.

5. Tiger breeding and utilization units should publicize the movement of animals to ensure that animals can be traced according to law. Refer to Article 24, Paragraph 9 of the "Beijing Wildlife Protection and Management Regulations".

Related News:

1. A circus tiger in Shanxi got out of control and bit people! The circus owes 4,500 yuan in medical expenses and is currently missing
https://view.inews.qq.com/a/20201217A03YI000

2. Li Tongshan, Sun Hui, Liu Hongchen, and Yin Yinhua's first-instance criminal judgment for the crime of illegally purchasing and selling precious and endangered wild animal products https://wenshu.court.gov.cn/website/wenshu/181107ANFZ0BXSK4/index.html?docId=329404069e8b48f8adf9abe900bfd3ce

3. 177 tigers live in iron cages, wandering in real estate, shopping malls, and streets https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1iiBn_hjY3vm1ks_h4Hm8w
 

4. State Forestry and Grassland Administration: China will continue to strictly prohibit rhino horn and tiger bone from being used as medicine
https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/154467679914469.html