China cracks down on poaching monkeys for dinner (2)

Farmers' markets, hotels and restaurants will be thoroughly inspected to prevent the trade of wild animals, he said.

Previous media reports reveal that bamboo rats and hog badgers have also been poached to be served as delicacies in Zixi restaurants.

People in some parts of China maintain the centuries-old tradition of eating exotic wildlife as a delicacy. But the tradition have taken a downturn in recent years over people's fears of contracting diseases such as SARS and an increasing awareness of animal rights and welfare issues.

Screengrabs and footage from the media reports drew tears and fury from many Chinese netizens, who have demanded efforts to completely stamp out the poaching and killing of wild animals.

"Please help these animals! I curse all the killers (of the monkeys) to hell!" one microblogger wrote.

According to the Chinese Criminal Law, those who illegally catch or kill endangered species of wildlife can be sentenced to no less than ten years in prison in serious cases.

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