More than 1,000 wild animal carcasses seized at farm in China

HONG KONG – The carcasses of more than 1,000 wild animals were seized by police at a farm in western China, including some protected species, state-run media reported.

Police found 1,025 dead animals from 14 species at the farm in Feng county in Shaanxi province, the state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The dead animals included masked palm civet, wild boar and Indian muntjac deer.

The animals were illegally slaughtered in a mountainous area of Gansu province, the carcasses hidden in Shaanxi, before they were sold in Sichuan province, the report said.

It did not say if any suspects had been arrested.

Pictures posted by CCTV of a large pile of dead, bloodstained animal carcasses shocked internet users.

“Public opinion is useless and severe punishments are the only solution,” one person wrote on social media.

Another said: “Why isn’t the national crackdown (on these illegal acts) helping? Has the government put all its effort into this or are some departments doing nothing?”

Poaching and trading in wild animals are not uncommon in China, with many ending up served in restaurants.

Nearly 900 carcasses of wild animals were seized by police at a market in Tianjin in January, with the meat on sale ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST