Five arrested for killing rare snow leopard in China

Chinese Police have arrested five suspects involved in poaching of endangered wild animals, including two snow leopards.
They were arrested on Tuesday after a two-month investigation, said the Public Security Bureau in Qinghai province.
Police seized bodies of two snow leopards and one golden eagle, both on the country's top protection list, as well as six bharals, six goitered gazelles and three argali sheep, which are also protected species, in the houses of the suspects, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The five confessed to their poaching of endangered wild animals, said the bureau.
The case is being investigated by the police.

Qinghai in the east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, boasts more than 70 protected wild animal species, such as snow leopards and Tibetan antelopes.

Under Chinese law, a person convicted of poaching and killing endangered wild animals can receive a life sentence.
Snow leopards are usually found in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Pamir Plateau at altitudes over 3,500 meters, with a number of less than 5,000 worldwide, including about 2,000 in China.
Snow leopards have been spotted often in recent years in northwest China due to local ecological protection efforts.