Monkey trainers cleared of wildlife violations

Four monkey trainers charged with illegally transporting rare wildlife were found not guilty on Tuesday after a second trial in Heilongjiang Province.

The four trainers transported six nationally-protected macaque monkeys from Xinye county, Central China's Henan Province, to Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang without a wildlife transportation license, the court said. But since they did not harm any of the monkeys, they were cleared of the charges, news portal chinanews.com reported.

The four were arrested in July 2014 during a street performance in Mudanjiang. In September 2014 a local court in Heilongjiang found the four guilty of illegally transporting rare wildlife. But the court did not impose any penalties.

Yao Yong'an, one of the lawyers for the four trainers, was satisfied with the verdict. "I will assist them [four trainers] to seek damages from the government, as they were detained for several months," Yao told the Global Times Tuesday.

Street monkey performances are a traditional art form dating back 2,000 years. It was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by Henan Province in 2009.

Monkey trainers usually travel with their monkeys to perform around the country. Transporting wildlife requires a license and also the approval of the provincial-level forest department, the Chinese law on wildlife protection states.

Those applying for a license should first obtain an invitation from a zoo or in places where they plan to perform, and then apply for the license at the local forest department where they come from, Zhang Junran, the president of the Monkey Art Association in Xinye county, explained.

"But no one ever applies for a license as it usually takes one or two months to get one. They cannot wait that long. They need the money to support their family," Zhang told the Global Times Tuesday. "It is pity that the court failed to solve the license issue."

Yao added that he hopes the case sets a legal precedent in dealing with monkey trainers to gradually exempt them from a transportation license.