Police caught two foreign falcon poachers recently in a county in northwest China's Qinghai Province and set free the two falcons free back into the forests.

According to police sources, the two foreign poachers were from an unspecified country neighboring China, to which they were later sent back.

The falcon is a rare wild bird under class two state protection, and because one falcon may eat as many as 2,000 rats a year, it plays an important role in maintaining ecological balance.

There are many falcons in Qilian County along the Qilian Mountain Range in Qinghai, and they attract greedy Chinese and foreign poachers seeking huge profits by smuggling the birds to countries in the Middle East.

Local police have caught dozens of falcon poachers this year in their efforts to combat poaching.