This year's World Environment Day on June 5 was themed with zero tolerance on illegal trade of wildlife, and accordingly the UN Environment Programme put forward a slogan as “shouts for life”. On that day, Lianyungang Customs House (affiliated to Nanjing Customs District) announced its seizure of rare animals and animal products suspected of being smuggled.

At 19:00 or so of May 24, the Hong Kong ship “JIN YI” from the Philippines berthed at Lianyungang port. During Customs inspection onboard, Customs officers inspected Sailor Wang’s room and found out one live parrot and numerous corals, shells hidden in his room. Allegedly, when the ship was berthed in the Philippines, the sailor illegally exchanged daily necessities with local residents for the wild parrot and corals, giant clams, conchs, and so on and hid them in the ship toward China.

Through identification by Chinese marine biologists, the seized parrot is a blue-neck parrot belonging to China's Class-Ⅱ National Protected Animals and listed in Appendix Ⅱ of the “Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” (CITES). The seized shells include 5 Squamosa Clam products belonging to China's Class-Ⅰ National Protected Animals and Appendix Ⅱ of CITES, 21 Cassis cornuta products and 7 cypraea tigris products belonging to China's Class-Ⅱ National Protected Animals, along with a number of products made of Charonia tritonis, Gorgonia, madrepore, Harpago chiragra, and conidae. At present, Lianyungang Customs has put the smuggling case under further investigation.

Since this year, Nanjing Customs District has seized 22 batches of smuggled wildlife and wildlife products such as ivory and nautilus.

 The seized Class-Ⅱ National Protected Animal—blue-neck parrot

 Customs officers were counting the seized protected animals.

 Experts were identifying the seized protected animals.