Land Rover China fined for cross-country activity in national reserve

A national reserve in a desert of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Wednesday imposed fines on Land Rover China over a cross-country activity the company held in the reserve.

The Lop Nur National Nature Reserve [File photo: VCG]

The Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve administrative bureau said an investigation found that the cross-country activity in November involved a fleet of 16 Land Rover vehicles and 49 people. The group entered the reserve illegally, violating Chinese law concerning nature reserves.

Yuan Lei, head of the bureau, said Land Rover China did not report the activity to the bureau, and even if it had been reported, the activity would not have been allowed to take place.

He said the bureau would impose the maximum penalty under the law, which includes fines from 300 to 10,000 yuan (45 to 1,511 U.S. dollars) for a company, and up to 5,000 yuan for an individual.

Land Rover China acknowledged that it will accept the punishment and will strictly comply with the law in organizing future activities.