20. Nov 2009
Tibetan antelope hides destroyed "to show anti-poaching resolution"
(Xinhua) Chinese animal protection authorities in Qinghai province destroyed 2,282 Tibetan antelope hides confiscated from poachers to "show resolution against killing of the rare species". "The hides were seized from poachers over the past ten years", said Cedain Zhou, director of the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve Administration. "We want to show our unswerving attitude in combating poaching". He said the move had been the largest of its kind since 1998 when China began coming down hard on armed poachers in the region. Over the past decade, more than 4,000 Tibetan antelope skins have been confiscated by the administration. To curb the slaughter of Tibetan antelopes, and protect the long term survival of the species, the Chinese government set up the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve in 1995, and upgraded it to a state-listed reserve in 1997.