WILDLEX

Since 2011, Fenxiang W. had been operating No.115 "Gulinxuan" and No. 105 "Wangudian" in Nangong Antique City in Yingze District, Taiyuan City. From May 2013 to June 2014, Fenxiang W.

Aiming G. operated the acquisition business in Shilou County, Shanxi Province without the business license, and illegally purchased 1 yellow-throated marten and other species with a total of 1,650 wild animals. Aiming G. would ship them to Xuzhou for profit.

In March 2019, Zhaopan H. phoned Ganmaqilin to discuss the purchase of bear paw and bear gall and transferred RMB 50,000 to Ganmaqilin through bank transfer. On March 24, 2019, Ganmaqilin and Zhaopan H. completed the transaction of 31 bear paws, 1 bear gall, and 3 yak galls in Qujing City, Yunnan Province. Later, Zhaopan H.

At the heart of this matter were the customary rights to marine resources. The appellants were tried at the Magistrate court and later appealed to the High Court in Mthatha. The Hight Court, however, held that their conduct was unlawful because they had not applied for an exemption as contemplated in the MLRA, granting them a permit to fish.

The court held that the appellants were protecting the lives of the cubs and as well as their legal interest in the survical of the cubs as the owners of the very expensive animals.

The appellant was found to have been complicit in the transaction where a fake rhino horn was sold in a police trap for R350 000. He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. The appellant unsuccessfully appealed to the Free State High Court against his conviction and sentence.