Chinese tech giant faces lawsuit over sale of illegal hunting gear

Civil case one of many brought by activists to protect China's environment

- Ang Qing

BEIJING - In a first, a Chinese environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) has taken a social media giant - short video app Kuaishou - to court over peddling illegal hunting equipment on its platform.

Friends of Nature, one of China's oldest green groups, says the app - an alternative to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and popular in the country's smaller cities and rural areas - has allowed sellers to hawk thousands of such products.

Mist nets, poison and electrocution equipment are among hunting tools that are banned by the Chinese authorities, who regulate the activity.

The case, reported by the group on Oct 24, is among the latest in a wave of civil lawsuits by green activists aiming to expand the country's environmental protection beyond traditional cases that target polluters.

It is believed to be the first lawsuit brought by an NGO against an internet company for facilitating the sale of weapons, which can also be found on other Chinese platforms, that harm wildlife.

Since 2015, environmental NGOs have been empowered to sue on behalf of the public as part of the country's grand ambition to build an "ecological civilisation". However, only those registered with the government and have worked on environmental protection activities for five consecutive years with no illegal records can file such cases.

Over the past decade, they have mounted novel legal challenges to curb planet-warming emissions, opt out of disposable cutlery on delivery platforms and even stop a hydropower project from threatening the home of China's only native peafowl.

Yet, the risks are high for NGOs as they navigate a tightly controlled civic space. Charitable organisations have to submit annual reports on their work, and cannot engage in activities deemed to endanger national security and public interests or accept funding that violates society's morals.