Chinese police arrest 90,000 for wildlife crimes

BEIJING -- Chinese police handled more than 70,000 wildlife-related criminal cases from 2020 to 2022, arresting over 90,000 suspects, a public security official told a press conference Friday.

Approximately 1.37 million wild animals and 180,000 kilograms of wildlife products were retrieved over three years, according to Lyu Wuqin, head of the food-and-drug crime investigation bureau under the Ministry of Public Security.

The official said all 150 major criminal cases supervised by the ministry during the period had been solved.

The numbers were due to a three-year nationwide crackdown campaign launched by the ministry in 2020 against wildlife crimes.

The campaign targeted primary areas, including national parks, nature reserves, and key venues such as zoos, circuses, and taming and propagation companies. The campaign retrieved over 120,000 wild animals under the country's special state protection, said Li Jiantao, deputy head of the food-and-drug crime investigation bureau.