Society

Marmot smugglers get holed up for plague fears

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-04-13 15:41

LANZHOU: Two men who were caught transporting more than 100 illegally caught live marmots in mountains in northwest China's Gansu Province have been put under forced medical observation out of plague fears, local authorities said Tuesday.

The men, surnamed Miao and Wen, are cousins from southwestern Sichuan Province. Their pick-up, carrying 109 live marmots, was stopped by police in a parking lot in downtown Lanzhou, Gansu's provincial capital, on April 4.

Though they appeared healthy, the two men were put under medical observation for safety considerations.

They will be fined 5,000 (US$735) to 20,000 yuan (US$2,941) for the illegal capture of the marmots, according to Ministry of Health's regulations that ban unauthorized marmot hunting, sales and transportation.

The marmots were put down humanely.

The disease prevention and control authorities in Lanzhou have sterilized the men's pick-up, hunting tools and the parking lot where they were stopped.

Marmot hunting is commonly known as a risk for plague infection. It has caused several outbreaks of rodent-borne disease in western China in recent years.

Though illegal, marmot hunting is rampant in the western provinces of Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai, as the animal's meat is edible and its fur is coveted by the garment industry.