No offense.

Wild eels are not endangered animals as defined by the state and are not protected by law, so it is not illegal to catch wild eels. It is not illegal or criminal to simply catch eels in wild waters. If you are detained, it is likely that you entered the breeding area by mistake. In this case, you need to bear civil liability for compensation. The specific decision must be made based on the actual situation.

Illegal fishing methods:

1. Electric eel fishing: Using electric fish equipment to catch eels. Objectively speaking, it was very common in rural areas in the past. Before the rice and shrimp fields were dug, many people had electric fish devices every night in the summer and went to catch fish in the ditches of the rice fields and on the riverside, including eels, leeches and frogs. Maybe they didn’t know about electric fish at that time. The harm of electric fish is absolutely not allowed anymore. Firstly, the state does not allow it. Secondly, if you electrocute eels in rice and shrimp fields, many shrimp seedlings will be electrocuted to death or disabled.

2. Medicinal eel:

It is also a common phenomenon to use medicine to catch eel, especially in rice and shrimp fields. Every time when plowing the fields, carbofuran is sprinkled in the rice fields. After a few minutes, a large number of struggling eels will emerge from the rice fields. Most farmers with some conscience will collect these poisoned eels and bury them in the soil. However, some people sell these medicinal eels. Going to the market to exchange money, I think this is a bit unethical, selling eels even though they know they are poisonous.

Nowadays, farmers in rice and shrimp fields sometimes use tea seed cakes to clean out impurities when needed. Fish and tea seed cake are basically not toxic to the human body, so I think these eels, loaches and crucian carp that have been treated with tea seed cake are still edible and will not cause harm to the human body. However, we generally do not eat these miscellaneous fish that have been treated with tea seed cakes. This is not because we are afraid of poisoning. The main reason is that there is no shortage of these fish, including loach, eel and crucian carp, so they are not particularly rare.

Legal basis

"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"

Article 341

Illegal hunting Anyone who kills rare or endangered wild animals under special state protection; or illegally purchases, transports, or sells rare or endangered wild animals under special state protection and their products shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious, , shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are particularly serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated.