China poachers caught after posting haul on social media

BEIJING – Chinese poachers have been caught after they posted pictures of themselves with their haul of illegally killed pheasants on social media.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Friday the photos and videos of the five men were circulating on China’s WeChat messaging service.

Rangers from the Liupanshan forestry bureau in the northwestern region of Ningxia were able to identify the poachers from the images and arrested four. A fifth man later turned himself in.

Their prey, the protected golden pheasant, is a second-class state-protected species native to western China.

Heavy snow forced animals to descend from isolated mountains to find food and rangers have set up feeding stations across the area to alleviate the risk of poaching and accidents.