China adds 517 species to protected wildlife list

Wolf, golden jackal and large-spotted civet among hundreds of animals granted special status in first major shake-up of the inventory for over 30 years

Move is part of a revision to the Wildlife Protection Law, which started with a ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals in February last year

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China has added the wolf to its list of protected species. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:30pm, 6 Feb 2021Updated: 10:07pm, 6 Feb 2021

China has added 517 new species to a list of nationally protected animals, marking the first major update of the inventory since its introduction in 1989.

The additions, which include the wolf, large-spotted civet and golden jackal, take the number of species on the List of Wildlife under Special State Protection – an adjunct to the Wildlife Protection Law – to 980.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly published the updated list on Friday.

Among the other additions were the Skywalker (or Gaoligong) hoolock gibbon and Bailey’s (or hot-spring) snake, which is endemic to Tibet.

The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is one of 517 new species granted protected status in China. Photo: Shutterstock

Of the protected species, 234 have first-class protection and 746 second-class. The revision also saw protection upgrades for 65 species, including the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise, from second class to first.