Wild bird hotpot: Chinese man arrested for illegally catching and killing 1,000 birds by snapping necks with bare hands
- Police in China arrest man who reportedly caught and killed 1,000 wild birds for a hotpot with his bare hands
- The man used a net and sound recorders playing recorded bird sounds to attract his prey
A man who illegally caught 1,000 protected birds and killed them in inhumane ways to eat in a hotpot has been arrested in eastern China.
The 39-year-old man, surnamed Wu, was arrested in Zhejiang province earlier this month after local police received tip-offs, the City Express reported.
When police arrested Wu, they found several large bags filled with dead birds on the man’s electric bike. There were also two small sound recorders.
Wu later showed the police where he had placed a large net to catch the birds. The net was held up by a bamboo pole and Wu said the sound recorders were hung nearby to play recorded bird calls to attract his prey.
Officers noticed some dead birds caught in the net which Wu said he abandoned as he took only live birds which he killed by breaking their necks with his bare hands.
Wu told the police he caught and killed the birds to cook in his hotpot. He said he had caught 948 sparrows and 13 other birds believed to be babbling thrushes, also known as babbler.