Turtles released by Buddhists crowd a pond in Zhanshan Temple, Qingdao, Shandong province, in June. [Photo by Xiao Feng/China Daily]

Lax enforcement of law is a major stumbling block, experts say

Legislative attempts to prevent the unauthorized release of animals into the wild are unlikely to succeed, legal experts said.

Zhao Jingwei, a lawyer at Yingke Law Firm in Beijing, said the legislation would be difficult to monitor from the perspective of law enforcement. He suggested the authorities launch a campaign to heighten public awareness of the problem.

"I think public education is vitally important. This sort of behavior will only be stopped if people understand that their actions are likely to harm the animals and the environment," he said.

A number of regulations existed before the revised Law on the Protection of Wildlife was adopted on July 2. They state that an application must be submitted to the local forestry bureau before animals are released. The application is followed by an official assessment of the types of animals to be freed and the possible effect on the local ecosystem. If there are no obvious concerns, permission is granted.

The problem is that few applications are filed, and people are setting animals free without permission.

"If an article of law does not regulate illegal behavior and fails to support law enforcement teams, it is useless, to all intents and purposes," said Zhao, adding that specific punishments should be formulated to ensure there are no gray areas.

Xie Yan, an associate research professor with the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said individuals should not release any animals into the wild.

"It should be left to the professionals, individuals are unable to do this properly," she said. "People should not release animals into the wild simply because they want to. The professionals only do so if injured animals have been treated and need to be reintroduced to their natural habitats, or in other specific circumstances.

"People with a genuine interest in participating in wildlife protection work should apply to observe the professionals and learn their techniques before they set any animals free."