This year has seen a significant campaign, involving many governmental organisations, to crack down on illegal hunting, especially with nets. An article published this week (in Chinese) detailed several cases where the authorities have uncovered large-scale illegal hunting activities and apprehended criminals.
The first example given in this article is startling. The English translation of the text is as follows:
“Dalian Public Security Bureau in Liaoning Province cracks a series of cases involving the endangerment of precious and endangered wild animals.
Recently, the Dalian Public Security Bureau in Liaoning Province cracked a series of cases involving the endangerment of precious and endangered wild animals, arresting 13 suspects and seizing more than 12,000 Yellow-breasted Buntings, a Class I protected wild bird species, with a total value exceeding 39 million yuan. Investigation revealed that in May 2025, suspect Zhang Moubao repeatedly and illegally hunted nationally protected wild birds, then purchased these birds from others and resold them to suspect Jiang Mou, who then fattened and sold the birds.”
I understand that there will be a visit to Liaoning Province – a hotspot of illegal trapping, especially in autumn – by the central government prosecutors to investigate the organised criminal gangs behind this illegal activity. This is a hugely welcome step and builds on the recent efforts to tackle the illegal use of mist nets by Chinese authorities.
Most birders will know that the Yellow-breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola 黄胸鹀 Huáng xiōng wú) is classified as critically endangered by BirdLife/IUCN after a catastrophic population crash – estimated at 84.3-94.7% between 1980 and 2013, as documented by Kamp et al. Illegal trapping in China is cited as the likely major cause of the decline. Following the publication of that paper, there was a big public awareness campaign led by the Hong Kong Birdwatching Society and, although it is far too early to say for sure, recent records suggest that the decline of this species may have slowed.
If the current efforts to tackle illegal trapping are successful in turning around the fortunes of one of the most threatened species in China, it will provide a huge shot in the arm and demonstrate that a combination of science, public awareness, conservation, and engagement with law enforcement, really can work!