Police detain 19 over protected species in Hubei
The police in Xingshan county of Yichang, Hubei province, recently arrested 19 suspects they say were involved in buying and selling protected animals. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Police in Xingshan county of Yichang, Hubei province, recently uncovered a case of serious harm to protected animals. They arrested 19 suspects and seized 238 animals.
The suspects were involved in hunting, selling or purchasing various species of wild animals, including a first-class nationally protected species, along with several kinds of national second-class protected animals in Guizhou and Hubei provinces.
They are accused of selling the these animals in Henan province at a substantial profit.
In August, the police in Xingshan received a report that two people were purchasing macaques in the county. They formed a task force and launched an investigation, ultimately apprehending the 19 suspects.
The police in Xingshan county of Yichang, Hubei province, recently arrested 19 suspects they say were involved in buying and selling protected animals. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
After the ringleader, surnamed Cao was captured, police found 12 wild macaques at his breeding farm. They said he purchased the animals.
Cao confessed that he primarily supplied artificially bred macaques to pharmaceutical companies, the police said. However, because of low survival rates he incurred big losses, so he turned to purchasing wild macaques to pass off as artificially bred ones, the police said.
However, Cao was caught before he could domesticate the macaques and sell them.
Another 10 macaques were rescued from another suspect surnamed Lu. All 22 monkeys were sent to the Dalaoling Nature Reserve in Yichang for care.
After logging the evidence, the police released 43 snakes back into the wild in September. Some of the macaques that were in good physical condition and suitable for release were set free in late October.
The police in Xingshan county of Yichang, Hubei province, recently arrested 19 suspects they say were involved in buying and selling protected animals. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The police in Xingshan county of Yichang, Hubei province, recently arrested 19 suspects they say were involved in buying and selling protected animals. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
