Extensive nets illegally installed in Tianjin and Tangshan, Hebei Province, killed over 5,000 wild birds, including precious species under state protection.[File Photo]

After an investigation into two illegal hunting areas where at least 5,000 birds have been killed, Tianjin police have arrested a suspect for allegedly catching and killing endangered wild birds, Beijing Morning News reported.

On Oct. 9, China's State Forestry Administration dispatched special working teams to the northern city Tianjin and its neighboring city, Tangshan, to clamp down on illegal hunting and provide on-site supervision of the removal of trammel nets and other traps.

Local forest regulators vowed to join hands with the police, locating those involved in the trapping and selling of the birds.

In early October, volunteers uncovered two massive bird hunting areas in the two cities, where they have since removed trammel nets totaling 20,000 meters in length, saving an estimated 3,000 birds from the nets.

"At least 5,000 dead birds were seen hanging on the extensive trammel nets. The dead and rotten birds on the ground were just uncountable," a volunteer said. 

Nine Oriental Scops Owls, which are a second-class protected species in China, were found during the rescue. Three were released, one sent to a relief station, and the other five already dead. Bird migration is currently at its peak, and illegal hunting has increased proportionally.