Qinghai seizes antelope poachers
( 2001-12-13 00:16 ) (1 )

The Hoh Xil Nature Reserve Administrative Bureau surrounded a group of Tibetan antelope poachers Tuesday morning in Northwest China's Qinghai Province.

Two suspects, Sha Hai and Yan Zhaocai, have been arrested and a gun, 4,000 bullets, two jeeps and 1.2 tons of petrol were confiscated, said Cai Ga, the bureau's director.

But two other suspects are still at large, said Cai, adding that the search will continue.

On Monday, one of the bureau's patrol teams found two suspicious vehicles in an area east of Kusai Lake on Monday, and decided to follow them.

When they reached Yeniugou, Sha Hai and another poacher intentionally drove one of the jeeps down a cliff, and both escaped.

Yan Zhaocai and Wu Hai, who were in another jeep, were apprehended at the site, but Wu escaped while being transported to the bureau.

Forest guards were soon organized to search along the nearby 109 routes.

"Our team walked for an average 30 kilometres in an environment of - 30 C, and we finally caught Sha Hai in the wee hours of Tuesday,'' said Cai.

Sha managed to escape at 8 am while the majority of the bureau's staff joined a search for the remaining suspects, but he was eventually caught after local police joined in the hunt for the poachers.

The poachers had planned to hunt for the Tibetan antelopes on October 6, but gave up after spotting the bureau's patrol team.

At present, a seven-person patrol team equipped with two vehicles and five guns continues to search for antelope poachers deep within the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve, where the temperature is 40 C below zero, Cai said.

The patrol team was sent into the reserve area last weekend. They had failed to detect any poachers during a patrol conducted on November 19 and December 2, but did discover the existence of more Tibetan antelopes in the reserve than previously.

The Chinese Government has paid much attention to the prevention of wildlife poaching.

A total of 53 cases of wildlife poaching and smuggling were discovered in the Tibet Autonomous Region during a recent anti-poaching and anti-smuggling blitz.

Between November 21 and December 5, acting on government orders, spot checks of the region were launched at hotels, restaurants, bus and railway stations, the airport and markets.

The move resulted in the seizing of 470 animal skins, 25 kilograms of animal products, 12 living animals and a home-produced rifle, with a total value of 100,000 yuan (US$12,05).

(China Daily by Xing Dingding)