Two imprisoned for killing endangered deer

LANZHOU -- A court in Northwest China's Gansu province Tuesday sentenced two men to 10 years in prison for illegally killing six endangered alpine musk deers, which are under top protection in China.

According to the people's procuratorate in the Qilian Mountain forested zone, the two entered the Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve without permission and illegally hunted and killed six deer by setting traps with wire from November last year to January this year.

The court sentenced the two men to 10 years in prison and fined them 10,000 yuan (about $1,420) respectively for poaching state-protected wildlife. In addition, they have to pay 180,000 yuan for the loss of national wildlife resources. The two did not appeal.

The solitary and nocturnal animal usually weighs about 15 kg. Males can produce musk, which was previously used for perfumes and stimulants. The species was classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.