A video clip shows a man slays a wild boar. (Photo/Southern Metropolis Daily)
(ECNS) -- Police have fined a team that broadcast the illegal hunting of wild animals online to gain views, but their activities are not considered criminal offenses, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
Online broadcaster Mengzi has attracted more than 30,000 fans since June 20 for live streaming shows on 6.cn featuring wild animals being killed.
Police in Wanzai County, Yichuan City of Jiangxi Province confirmed that Mengzi and his team were fined for illegal hunting.
Cai Junsong, a member of an animal protection association, said the program's staff members set a trap in the wild field first, then torture, slaughter and eat their prey after they catch one. They kill at least one animal a day, it was added.
Some scenes were blatantly cruel, including putting a cigarette butt into a prey's mouth or skinning animals alive, according to Cai.
In the program, Mengzi also invited spectators to give virtual gifts, which can be changed into real income, before showing how he tortured animals. In two shows, including the slaughter of a wild boar, Mengzi was said to accumulate the virtual wealth equal to 96,000 yuan ($14,400) but it remained unclear how much he got in the end.
The online platform 6.cn denied abuse of protected animals and highlighted Mengzi and another producer as "broadcasters with the best outdoor survival skills".
Zeng Yan, an engineer with Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that at least four kinds of animals featured in the shows were recognized to have beneficial, economic or scientific value, collectively known as the "three-haves" and require approval to be hunted.
Three-have animals now receive lower protection in China's animal protection scheme, which is mainly dedicated to first and second-degree creatures.
Police vowed to follow the case as the program continues.
