LAST WEEK, a 21-year-old woman in Weinan, Northwest Shaanxi province, was declared brain dead after she was bitten by a coral snake she bought as a pet online. Who should be blamed for the tragedy? China Youth Daily comments:

Coral snakes, which are highly venomous, are a national protected species, which means it is illegal to sell them. The woman who bought the snake was obviously at fault as well as the seller. According to reports, the 21-year-old woman told the seller she wanted to purchase the snake so she could brew medicinal wine. The girl's friends and family, however, said she was keeping the snake as a pet.

The trade in endangered species, including poisonous snakes, is conducted openly through various channels, as the companies that operate the e-commerce platforms and the express delivery enterprises turn a blind eye to the illegal trade.

Although the Postal Law bans sending living creatures by post, many express delivery companies are happy to transport them as it is a big market, and the State-owned companies rightly refuse to handle such deliveries. The animals are delivered, in poor conditions sometimes, to the buyers to be kept as pets or killed for food. And if any animals die in transit, which happens sometimes, the seller will simply send another to the buyer.

China is the largest e-commerce and express delivery market in the world. Hopefully, the woman's plight will awaken the law enforcement authorities to strengthen their supervision and make the laws count in practice so as to put an end to the cruel, dangerous and illegal trade in wildlife.

The woman, the seller, the e-commerce platform and the express delivery company are all accountable for the tragedy.