BEIJING: Wildlife enforcement actions have played a vital role in combating the illegal wildlife trade in China. While the effectiveness of the conservation measures has garnered significant research attention, there remains a lack of comprehensive national-scale assessments.
To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of enforcement measures, a group of Chinese researchers evaluated the nationwide Protecting Migratory Birds Special Action.
The initiative was launched by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, formerly the National Forestry Administration, in October 2016 to combat the illegal bird trade and safeguard migratory birds and other wildlife species.
It mobilized efforts to thoroughly inspect key areas where migratory birds make stopovers during their flights, aiming to disrupt illegal trading networks.
“By analyzing changes in pet bird markets nationwide before and after this special action, our research aimed to reflect the efficacy of protection enforcement,” said Liang Zhijian, a doctoral student from the School of Ecology at Sun Yat-sen University in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, who is the first author of a paper on the study published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer reviewed scientific journal of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, with the title of Law Enforcement and Pet Bird Trade in China. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
