疫情下野生动物的法律界定:起点、难点及边线

Legal Definition of Wild Animals during the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Period: Its Starting Point, Difficulty and Boundary

疫情下全面禁止野生动物非法交易和滥食陋习后,野生动物的法律界定问题因直接关系到合法和违法的界限而更加凸显。人类对野生动物的资源性管控和利用,使其中一部分从自然界脱离成为家养动物。这一事实是法律界定的起点,然而它的复杂面相决定了野生与家养之间难以划出一道截然分明的界线,特别是对于驯养动物的法律定性在理论上和立法中均有多种不同认知,需要综合生物学和文化习俗等标准对其进行符合本国国情的认定。我国现行立法及其他官方文件对野生动物采用了间接的外延界定方式,但还需要在修法中将其内涵明确为家畜家禽以外未经驯化的动物,并通过反向划定家畜家禽范围、对驯养动物进行分化归类等方式进一步明晰野生动物的外延,以理顺《野生动物保护法》与《畜牧法》等相关法律在调整范围上的边线与相互关系,构建起全面的动物立法体系。

The definition of "wildlife", which logically begins with the distinctions between wildlife and domestic animals but centers on the classification of tamed animals, becomes even more problematic after China’s ban on wildlife food during the coronavirus pandemic. The continuity and uncertainty of the domestication process make it all but impossible to draw a clear line between the two, while doctrines and legislations also differ on the qualification of tames animals, which call for a comprehensive but diversified approach. Although China’s current legislations and other official documents adopt a beat-around-the-bush strategy to demarcate the extension of wildlife, future amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act and other related laws still need to define the intension of wildlife, further clarify its extension by defining its counterpart "Livestock and Poultry" and reasonably classifying tamed animals, so as to coordinate the application of Wildlife Protection Act and Stock-breeding Act and forge a comprehensive animal protection legal system.