Recently, the State Forestry Administration’s judicial expertise center made an identification that the 4 animal skins seized by Urumqi Airport Customs House (affiliated to Urumqi Customs District) on May 22 are all the skins of brown bears that belong to China’s Class-Ⅱ Key Protected Wild Animals, worth CNY80,160 in total.

At 7:50 am of May 22, a flight from Tbilisi arrived at Urumqi Airport. When inspecting luggage from the flight over X-ray machine, Customs officers found out a piece of luggage abnormal with brown shade in its image. Then the luggage was unpacked for check, thus 4 bear skins with heads and claws were exposed and seized.

Since 2015, Urumqi Customs has successively cracked smuggling cases of rare, endangered animals and animal products including black bear paws, spotted seal skins, and antelope horns.

By China’s Customs Law and Wildlife Conservation Law, illegal import/export of wildlife and wildlife products is subject to Customs administrative penalty or, in serious cases, subject to criminal punishment.

Seized brown bear skins