As a birder and conservationist, there is nothing more disheartening than discovering illegal mist nets with entangled birds struggling for their lives. It’s something I have experienced many times in Beijing and, although the authorities will now respond quickly to reports of illegal poaching, at least in the capital, it is clear that the practice remains widespread.
In fact, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of migratory birds are illegally killed or captured in China every year using mist nets. Some are trapped for ‘exotic’ food and some are taken for the cage bird trade. Many more thousands are killed as bycatch in nets set up to ‘protect’ crops, including shellfisheries and coastal fisheries.
Based on publicly available information about illegal hunting convictions involving birds from 2014 to 2020 (China Judgements Online [裁判文书网]), among 3,298 cases which specified the tools used, 1,795 (54%) involved mist nets. These cases were widely distributed, involving 230 prefectures (68% of 336 prefectures in China) with a high concentration in prefectures of eastern China’s provinces. The cases involved more than 1.6 million birds being killed, including some endangered species that have already been heavily impacted by illegal hunting, such as the Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola 黄胸鹀 Huáng xiōng wú), a species classified by the IUCN Red List as critically endangered (Kamp et al. 2015). And of course those cases that are discovered, reported and result in a conviction are likely to represent a tiny fraction of the total number of birds killed.
Last September, at the World Coastal Forum in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, I was invited to participate in a panel discussion with prosecutors from China’s coastal provinces to discuss how prosecutors can play their part in protecting coastal wetlands. Towards the end of the session, I was asked what is the single biggest thing that prosecutors can do to help migratory birds. I had no hesitation in responding by saying “control the production and sale of mist nets”. I did not expect what happened next.
Participating in a panel discussion with Chinese prosecutors at the World Coastal Forum in Jiangsu Province, September 2023.
A few days after the World Coastal Forum, I was contacted and invited to submit a background note on mist nets, including some recommendations. With thanks to Dan Liang at Princeton University, who has studied the impact of mist nets at razor clam farms on migratory shorebirds (see this paper), and experts at BirdLife International, a short note was submitted to the prosecutors. Within a few weeks, we heard that the prosecutors were engaged and were exploring what could be done. Quickly, it was revealed that e-commerce platforms, such as Alibaba’s Taobao (similar to the online sales platform, Amazon, familiar to most in the West), had been told to add clear warnings to anyone looking to buy mist nets, that using them to trap wild birds was illegal.
A search for mist nets on Taobao now *should* return a strong message about the illegality of trapping wild birds and animals.
Then came news that the Chief Prosecutor’s office had circulated a note to all provincial prosecutors instructing them to take action to control the production, sale and use of mist nets.
At the end of 2023, the Chief Prosecutor’s office listed tackling mist nets as one of the priority issues in their annual summary and forward look to 2024 (in Chinese) and we have been told that more action will be forthcoming this year.
We understand that one of the actions they are examining is the setting of a standard for ‘anti-bird’ nets, in terms of the thickness of the cord and mesh size. Such a standard would ensure nets used to protect the legitimate interests of farmers would do so without being lethal to birds. And by banning the unlicensed production, public sale and use of nets that do not meet the standard, the supply and availability of nets used by poachers would be much reduced. This seems like a sensible approach.
The work by prosecutors, although still in its early stages, is a hugely welcome step and it is clear that the issue is now firmly on their agenda. As one of the legal officials said, controlling mist nets is a “low-hanging fruit” for prosecutors on biodiversity – it is relatively simple to enact and at low cost, with a huge benefit to wild birds. Controlling mist nets is also squarely in line with the goals of the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed by more than 190 countries under China’s presidency of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
I am almost daring to dream that, one day, the scourge of mist nets used to trap wild birds will be consigned to history in China.
Header image: an illegal mist net, with a caged Yellow-breasted Bunting used to attract birds towards the nets, in coastal Hebei Province (Terry Townshend)
This is a without doubt a serious problem throughout the region so your news is very encouraging. Sadly, I fear this action may be too late for Spoon-billed Sandpiper where doubtless other factors are at play.
Regards, Grahame.
Thanks Grahame. Yes, it may indeed be too late for Spoon-billed Sandpiper and, of course, it’s certainly too late for all the millions of individual birds that have needlessly perished in these awful nets. It is sometimes hard to be optimistic about conservation in the face of such a tide of bad news but if we know one thing about nature, it is that it has an incredible ability to bounce back if given a chance. All we can do is to try to tackle the threats wild birds face and, even if it is too late for a single species, taking action may save others from the same fate. Terry
Fantastic news as long as the wrods are turned into action, well done Terry. As an aside, on our earlier visits to the eastern China coasts, we destroyed a number of illegally set nets and released birds that were still alive in them. Brown Shrikes didn’t seem to recognise that we were helping them and their bite has to be experienced to be believed!
Yes, still a long way to go… I can sympathise with you about Brown Shrikes.. not one to handle without extreme care!
thanks you for your actions in reducing the use of the mist nets !
Thank you, Jean Paul. I will certainly do my best to push for further action this year and beyond.
I’m impressed with the speed of reaction to the problem of mist nets. Here in North America we’re working on Light Pollution and Bird Collisions which kills up to 1 billion birds annually. It too is a “low hanging fruit” which is entirely doable as cities like Dallas, New York and Toronto know. But getting federal regulations is another thing. You add up all these threats to birds — also cats, (2.4 billion annually) , and loss of habitat and it is a recipe for extinction. But we CAN turn it around and it’s encouraging to learn Chinas response to illegal mist nets. And your fine work. Thanks Terry.
Thank you, Jane. Bird collisions is another issue that is beginning to gain traction here. Tencent (Asia’s largest tech company) recently retrofitted their HQ in Shenzhen with patterned film to reduce the risk of birdstrikes after concerned staff noticed dead birds during autumn migration and there is now a network of volunteers working to build an understanding of the scale of the issue in China, as well as some progressive real estate companies, such as Vanke, that are piloting solutions. Still some way to catch up to North America but I wouldn’t be surprised if China is ahead within a few years!
It is incredibly hopeful to see such an approach being not only discussed but also implemented. Are there concerns that farmers will miss a tool (no matter useful or not) to protect crops? It would be great if this attitude towards mist nets comes to Southeast Asia!
Hi Yann. The legitimate interests of farmers are important, hence the plan to look at a standard for ‘bird-proof’ nets that protects crops and minimises the risk to birds. The thickness of the cord seems to be a key factor. If China can successfully develop such a standard, I am sure it will be keen to promote to other countries. Still a long way to go to find a solution but it’s wonderful that prosecutors are looking seriously at this issue. Thanks again, Terry