Seven bird poachers jailed in China

Seven people were jailed in China's Hunan province on Monday for poisoning endangered birds and trafficking their carcasses for meat.

The People's Court in Yueyang city sentenced one of the seven to 12 years in jail and fined him 10,000 yuan ($1,500), Xinhua reported.

Two others were sentenced to 10 years in prison and were fined 10,000 yuan while four were jailed for one to six years.

The gang poisoned, transported and sold endangered birds from the wetlands of Dongting Lake Nature Reserve and surrounding regions.

Police began investigating after law enforcement officers with the reserve found a boat carrying many dead water birds including cygnets and herons on January 18, 2015.

They found that the gang bought pesticides to poison the birds and killed more than 60 wild water birds in the reserve, selling the carcasses to a restaurant in Changde city between November 2014 and January 2015.