Don't eat wild game, and don't buy, sell or keep protected animals as pets; don't dig up or trade wild orchids, cliff arborvitae (崖柏) or yew (红豆杉) either

Cost

Free. Buy pets only of lawfully sourced, captive-bred varieties. If you see wild orchids in the mountains, don't dig them up; buy potted orchids and yews only from flower markets and nurseries, and only artificially grown ones.

What you get

Eating wildlife under key state protection, or buying it in order to eat it, brings confiscation and a fine of 2 to 20 times its value. Breeding wildlife under key state protection without a permit brings confiscation and a fine of 1 to 10 times its value. Illegally buying, transporting or selling rare and endangered wildlife under key state protection, or its products, brings up to 5 years and a fine. Within this offense, serious cases bring 5 to 10 years and especially serious cases 10 years or more. Hunting, buying, transporting or selling other land wildlife in order to eat it brings up to 3 years in serious cases. Official case: Wang Mou (王某) and 2 others (3 people in all), who were breeders, sold more than 40 captive-bred Fischer's lovebirds (费氏牡丹鹦鹉, under second-class state protection) for under 400 CNY in total, and in 2021 the procuratorate decided not to prosecute. Since 2022 the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have made clear that where captive-breeding technology is mature, the scale is established and the animals are traded and transported as pets, it is generally not treated as a crime (China). Wild plants have a separate offense. Illegally felling or destroying plants under key state protection, or buying, transporting, processing or selling these plants and their products, all fall under this offense. The sentence is up to 3 years plus a fine, and 3 to 7 years in serious cases. A 2023 interpretation from the Supreme People's Court sets the thresholds. 1 wild plant under first-class state protection, or 2 under second-class, or a value of 20,000 (2万) CNY or more, is enough for a conviction. 5 first-class plants, 10 second-class plants, or a value of 200,000 (20万) CNY or more, counts as serious circumstances. A buyer counts only if he knew the plants were illegally dug. In the 2021 list, all species of cliff arborvitae (崖柏) and of the yew genus (红豆杉属) are first-class. All species of the orchid genus (兰属) are second-class, including chunlan (春兰), huilan (蕙兰) and lianbanlan (莲瓣兰). In that genus only tu'erlan (兔耳兰) is not on the list, while meihualan (美花兰) and Wenshan hongzhulan (文山红柱兰) are first-class. Digging plants up and replanting them at home is still convicted as illegal felling, and the fact that they were replanted is taken into account at sentencing. Artificially grown plants do not count, except ancient and famous trees. Official cases: in Nanzhao, Henan, in 2022 a man dug up 3 wild orchids on a hillside and posted a video to sell them. He was sentenced to criminal detention for 6 months with a 10-month suspension, and fined 3,000 CNY. In Suizhou, Hubei, a group dug up more than 30,000 (3万多) wild chunlan and huilan plants over more than two years. In 2025 one of them was sentenced to 1 year 7 months with a 2-year suspension (China)

Notes

"Generally not treated as a crime" refers only to the kind that is captive-bred and kept as pets. It does not apply to animals caught in the wild or of unknown origin. Which animals count as under key state protection is determined by the official list. Checking the list before you buy is easier than explaining after something happens. Plants are the same: only wild plants growing naturally in their native habitat are covered. The orchids sold in live streams as "dug on the spot" (现场采挖) or "plants down from the mountain" (下山草) are wild ones. Buying or selling products such as cliff arborvitae root carvings and bead bracelets (崖柏) while knowing they were illegally dug also falls under this offense.

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2022). Wildlife Protection Law [in Chinese] (2022 revision, Articles 31, 51 and 53). https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/fl/202302/t20230220_1016885.shtml (republished by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment)
2. National People's Congress (2020). Criminal Law [in Chinese] (as amended by Amendment XI, Article 341). https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925/index.html
3. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2020). Amendment XI to the Criminal Law [in Chinese] (Article 41, i.e., Article 341, paragraph 3, of the Criminal Law). https://www.spp.gov.cn/zdgz/202012/t20201227_503682.shtml
4. Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate (2022). Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Destroying Wildlife Resources [in Chinese] (Fa Shi [2022] No. 12, Article 13). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/xwfbh/wsfbt/202204/t20220407_553506.shtml
5. Supreme People's Procuratorate (2023). A Small Parrot Case, a Big Case for People's Livelihood [in Chinese]. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202302/t20230211_601023.shtml
6. Supreme People's Procuratorate (2020). The Supreme Court and Supreme Procuratorate Issue a Reply Clarifying the Scope of Precious Trees and Other Plants Under Key State Protection, and Explaining the Understanding and Application of Illegal Transplanting of Key State-Protected Plants [in Chinese] (includes the original text of Article 344 of the Criminal Law and the full text of the reply, Fa Shi [2020] No. 2). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/xwfbh/wsfbt/202003/t20200320_456927.shtml
7. Supreme People's Court (2023). Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Trying Criminal Cases of Destroying Forest Resources [in Chinese] (Fa Shi [2023] No. 8, Article 2). https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/408822.html
8. National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (2021). List of Wild Plants Under Key State Protection [in Chinese] (Announcement No. 15 of 2021, annex). https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-09/09/content_5636409.htm
9. Procuratorial Daily (2023). Nanzhao, Henan: Promoting a Care Mechanism for Wild Plants Involved in Cases [in Chinese]. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/dfjcdt/202307/t20230720_622083.shtml
10. Procuratorial Daily (2025). Zengdu District, Suizhou, Hubei: Cracking Down on Illegal Digging and Livestream Sales of Wild Orchids [in Chinese]. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202505/t20250513_695459.shtml

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 9, tip 14. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer