Four entertainers who use performing monkeys in their act are appealing after being convicted of illegally transporting rare animals.

The Monkey Art Association in Xinye county, Henan province, is supporting the four by finding lawyers to represent them.

Bao Fengshan, Bao Qingshan, Su Guoyin and Tian Junan are from Xinye, which is well-known for its monkey displays. They were arrested while staging a show with six macaque monkeys on a street in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang province, in July.

Officers from the Mudanjiang Forestry Public Security Bureau said the men did not have a wild animal transportation license, and they were convicted by a special court in Dongjingcheng county on Sept 23.

The four were released without punishment and the monkeys were returned to them, but one of the animals had died.

Bao Fengshan said the 12-year-old monkey, which he called Dan, was the best of the three he owned.

"I had Dan since he was born, and he could do lots of different tricks," he told The Paper. "The other two can't hold up the performance without Dan.

"I loved him like a grandson, and I earned the tuition fees for my two children from his performances."

Bao had to bury the monkey in Mudanjiang instead of taking it back to Xinye because the crew of an intercity bus refused to let him take the dead animal with him.

Xinye has a long tradition of staging monkey shows, and the art was included in the provincial intangible cultural heritage list in 2009.

The association's president, Zhang Junran, said: "We have more than 1,000 members, and we have an obligation to pass on and spread our intangible cultural heritage. The arrests were a great shock, and members are now afraid to put on monkey shows in other cities as they did before.

"As an official association, we safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of members and provide licenses for the monkeys we breed. The monkeys bring people enjoyment, and the tricks are not illegal."

Nine lawyers from Henan, Sichuan and Shanxi provinces have offered to represent the entertainers.

"With their support, we are confident of victory," said Zhang.

Ruan Chuansheng, a criminal lawyer in Shanghai, said the four have a right to appeal to higher courts in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law.

However, under the Criminal Law, people can be prosecuted if they transfer, capture or kill wild animals.

Macaque monkeys are protected by law, "so the crime of illegal transport of wildlife has been committed", he said.

Traditionally, people have used performing monkeys and other animals to earn money, "but now they will be punished if the animals are rare ones on the country's protected list", he said.

Cao Yin in Beijing contributed to this story.

zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn

Bao Fengshan stands at the scene in Heilongjiang province where he was detained on Sept 26 for transporting monkeys. Cao Fuchuan / For China Daily