Chinese restaurant caught serving protected wild sparrow on the menu
Beijing police detain 36 people on Sunday as they launch one-month operation to tackle illegal hunting and sales of birds, which are now migrating south
A Chinese restaurant in Beijing is serving protected wild sparrow on its menu – despite a citywide crackdown by forestry police against the illegal hunting and selling of birds, mainland media reports.
The small restaurant in the town of Yongding, in Mengtougou district was found to be offering a 50 yuan (HK$58) plate of fried sparrow as one of the main dishes, the Beijing Morning News reported.
Forestry police also found seven bags inside a fridge containing the bodies of 140 sparrows, which the restaurant had bought from farmers for a price of one yuan per sparrow, the report said.
The police launched a one-month operation on Sunday to target the illegal hunting and selling of the wild birds, which are now migrating southwards across the mainland as winter approaches.
The police arrested 36 individuals and released more than 1,000 trapped birds across the city.