China's procuratorates to beef up public interest litigation for wildlife protection

BEIJING -- China's procuratorial organs will continue to increase efforts in guiding and handling public litigation cases for wildlife protection, said Zhang Xueqiao, deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP).

The SPP Friday released six typical cases of public interest litigation filed by procuratorates for wildlife protection.

Among the cases, three were criminal actions with civil claims on charges including hunting and killing rare or endangered wild animals and trafficking and selling rare or endangered wild animals and related products.

The other three were public interest lawsuits against administrative bodies for supervisory loopholes or lax law enforcement.

Zhang said the procuratorates will employ various means to pursue criminal and civil liabilities for wildlife-related illegal activities and urge relevant administrative bodies to tighten supervision.