The State Duma has passed a bill submitted by the government to toughen criminal liability for the illegal poaching of wild animals listed in the Russian Red Data Book.

The draft law provides for mandatory labour and a prison sentence of up to four years for the illegal hunting, possession and selling of valuable wild animals.

State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin emphasised that if the draft law is adopted, both poachers and their accomplices will not be able to escape punishment, because separate penalties are set out for non-officials who abuse their position, such as nature reserve and nature sanctuary employees who were not subject to punishment before.

“The amendments to the Russian Criminal Code will allow for an efficient investigation of crimes when the rarest animals such as snow leopards or Amur tigers, which are on the verge on extinction, are killed for fun or money. The law will protect and preserve the unique wildlife of our country,” Volodin said.