What kind of law is there in place to protect pandas? -- china.org.cn

Hello,

my name is Angel. I'm an 8th grader and I'm doing a research project of pandas.I have a few questions I would like to ask you and it would be very helpful if you reply because I need some primary resources.

What kind of law is there in place to protect pandas and why might people not want them in place? Do you know of any laws that there's conflict over whether or not they should become official or not? Thanks for your time and it would be very nice if you could reply.

Thank you.

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In order to put the protection of giant pandas and other wildlife under the law, the Chinese government put the protection of rare animals and plants into the Constitution. A set of laws, like the Forest Law, the Law on the Protection of Wildlife, The Environmental Protection Law have been made and passed. In 1987, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed an amendment to the Criminal Law, saying "smugglers of giant pandas shall have a punishment of at least a 10-year sentence and confiscation of property; under grave circumstances, life sentence or even death sentence together with a total confiscation of property shall be applied." These legislative measures have so far effectively protected giant pandas and other rare animals from human harm.

Besides, lawmakers in northwest China 's Shaanxi Province enacted a regional law on November 26, 2007 that is intended to improve protection of the Qinling Mountains , a habitat of endangered giant pandas. The law, which will take effect on March 1, 2008 is aimed at preserving biodiversity, preventing soil erosion (which averages 84 million tons a year) and promoting harmony between man and nature in the mountain range, which is a divide between China's north and south. It requires all future development projects in the Qinling Mountains to be assessed for their possible impact on the ecology and bans real estate projects and polluting industries in nature reserves, where the ecology is more vulnerable.

(China.org.cn December 25, 2007)