[Pomegranate Review]
Zhang Bei
The wild scorpion stings people, why not catch it and sell it for money? No!
Recently, the Hutubi County Public Security Bureau and the County Forestry and Grassland Bureau formed a joint law enforcement team to inspect and stop the illegal behavior of residents catching wild scorpions in the grasslands, and released 2.15 kilograms of wild scorpions that were seized. . Selling money for catching poisonous scorpions reflects the lack of public environmental literacy, including scientific literacy and legal literacy, among scorpion hunters. In the process of ecological civilization construction, strengthening the public’s environmental protection literacy is a project that requires continuous efforts.
To improve environmental protection literacy, we must first continuously improve scientific literacy and eliminate misunderstandings and blind spots in understanding. Wild scorpions are generally known as poisonous insects, and they are relatively common in pastures, Gobi and other environments, so many people think that it doesn’t matter if they are caught. In fact, wild scorpions are an important part of the grassland biological chain. Large-scale capture will cause the biological chain to break and seriously damage the ecological balance. This is not an alarmist, because people are ignorant, and the ecological tragedy caused by indiscriminate killing is just around the corner. Least-endangered species, but due to people’s crazy predation, the population has plummeted. By 2017, it has been included in the “critically endangered species” in the “IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”, and in 2021. It is a first-class protected animal in the National Key Protected Wildlife List. In just over a dozen years, a biological population is facing the danger of extinction. The shocking facts tell us that the lack of scientific literacy and the weak awareness of ecological protection are the constraints to promoting the construction of ecological civilization.
If scientific literacy is the internal drive to improve environmental literacy, then legal literacy is the external constraint to improve environmental literacy. According to the “Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Wildlife”, not only wild scorpions, but also many common wild animals such as squirrels, geckos and snakes are beneficial or terrestrial wild animals with important economic and scientific value protected by the state (referred to as terrestrial wild animals). “Three Possessions” protected animals), catching one “Three Possess” protected animals is illegal, and catching more than 20 animals constitutes a crime. In cases such as the “catch and release” of poisonous scorpions, whether it is illegal because of ignorance of the law or disapproval of illegal behavior, it all reflects that the publicity and popularization of relevant laws and regulations on wildlife protection must be continuously strengthened, and some people are in the wild. Legal awareness of protection needs to be improved urgently. Only by knowing the law and abiding by the law, and taking the law as the bottom line, can human beings live in harmony with wild animals.
Everything born in nature is alive and beautiful. Not only rare and endangered wild animals and cute pets should be protected. Man and nature are a community of life. Human beings should have more awe and compassion for every plant, tree, bird and beast of nature. As participants and builders of ecological civilization, we should actively improve environmental protection literacy and turn it into practical environmental protection actions to jointly build a beautiful home for all things to share.