Recently, a criminal and civil public interest litigation case involving the endangerment of precious and endangered wildlife was publicly heard and sentenced in Xiangshan County People's Court in Zhejiang Province. Three people involved were sentenced for the crime of endangering precious and endangered wildlife by illegally purchasing, transporting, and selling red sea turtles, and were responsible for environmental public interest compensation costs. In September 2023, the defendant Zhang obtained a sea turtle while operating a fishing boat and transported the dead turtle back to the port through other vessels. On September 23rd, the defendant Wang purchased the dead turtle from the defendant Zhang for 1300 yuan and sold the turtle to the defendant Jiang for 2600 yuan. After identification, the sea turtle belongs to the red sea turtle (loggerhead turtle), which is a national first-class protected wild animal valued at 150000 yuan. After being reported by the crew, the defendants Jiang, Wang, and Zhang received a phone call notification from the public security organs and automatically surrendered to the Xiangshan workstation of the Ningbo Coast Guard, truthfully confessing to the above-mentioned criminal facts. The defendants Wang and Zhang respectively returned 1300 yuan of illegal gains. The Xiangshan Court held that the red sea turtle is a national first-class protected wild animal clearly listed in China's "List of Key Protected Wild Animals", and is included in the "Red List of Endangered Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature". It is a precious and endangered wild animal. The defendants Jiang, Wang, and Zhang illegally purchased, transported, and sold precious and endangered wildlife under national key protection, and their actions have constituted the crime of endangering precious and endangered wildlife. Three individuals truthfully confessed their crimes and pleaded guilty to punishment upon their arrival at the scene. Defendants Wang and Zhang actively returned their illegal gains, while defendant Zhang actively paid environmental public welfare compensation fees. The court sentenced the defendant Jiang to one year and ten months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and fined 10000 yuan in accordance with the law; The defendant Wang was sentenced to one year and four months in prison, suspended for one year and six months, and fined 10000 yuan; The defendant Zhang was sentenced to ten months' imprisonment, suspended for one year, and fined 10000 yuan. The defendants Jiang, Wang, and Zhang in the criminal incidental civil public interest lawsuit have damaged wildlife resources and ecological environment, and harmed the public interest. They should bear the responsibility for ecological environment infringement according to law. The court then ruled in accordance with the law that the defendants Jiang, Wang, and Zhang shall jointly bear a compensation fee of 150000 yuan for environmental public welfare damages. (New Society)