Laws to prevent wildlife hunting and eating their meat are becoming stricter in China!

The Dhaka Times Desk The Chinese government has announced a 10-year prison sentence for people who hunt endangered wildlife for food. The Central Court of China issued this law last Thursday

Not only are there penalties for wildlife poachers, but also for those who buy wildlife meat. The punishment for buying wild animal meat is three years in jail. 420 species of animals have been included in the list of endangered animals by the Chinese government. These include Asian black bears and pangolins. Poachers hunt these animals to sell their skins in addition to eating their meat. China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported on poaching of these endangered animals and called for government intervention to stop them. Many poachers escape punishment by loopholes in the law.

Leng Sheng is the deputy head of the Legislative Commission of the National People's Congress of China. He told lawmakers, "Those who buy this hunted meat are the main supporters of the hunters." Those who eat the flesh of these animals find it tonic for the body and effective against many diseases. This new law was drafted into China's criminal law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

According to Chinese myth, pangolin or bonrui is one of the main ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine. Many believe that burning its flesh removes toxins from the body and relieves the pain of paralysis. The same is true of black bears. Many believe that eating bear bile cures chronic stomach ailments.

According to the Animal Rights Organization, there are 10,000 bear farms in China where they are raised to sell their bile. China has the largest wildlife poaching market in the world. According to UN reports, wildlife and their parts are trafficked from here to parts of West Asia and the Pacific.

Reference: BBC