Anyone who eats (or purchases, for that matter) the four-hundred species on China's list of endangered species can now be eligible for up to ten years in jail.
Also, here is a list of several critically endangered species:
Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)
Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis)
Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)
Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)
Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)
Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis)
South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis)
Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus)
Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii)
Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
On a downside, new Australian research shows that while there are many efforts to save endangered species, they may very well be in vain. Though there have been roughly 1.5 million species discovered and documented on this Earth, there are so many more species that we do not know about, or have not seen. Many of these may exist in the ocean, or possibly deep into some forests, two places that humans have polluted through oil spills and industrialization. In addition, there is no easy way to suddenly find all of the species we are hurting, or may have already killed.
BABCE co-director
""When it comes to looking after all the species that are already endangered, there's such a lot to do that sometimes it might all seem to be too much, especially when there are so many other important things to worry about. But if we stop trying, the chances are that pretty soon we'll end up with a world where there are no tigers or elephants, or sawfishes or whooping cranes, or albatrosses or ground iguanas. And I think that would be a shame, don't you?"
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/30/world/asia/china-wildlife-law/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?sort=extinction_status&direction=deschttp://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=221002
http://endangeredspecies.about.com/od/endangeredspeciesconservation/a/Quotes-About-Endangered-Species.htm