AN Asian badger was found dead on Apoji Mountain in Guangming District a day after a resident found it caught in an iron trap, according to a report by the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily yesterday.

The resident, identified by his surname Ma, said that he first found the Asian badger trapped in the bushes Monday when he was hiking on the mountain. Due to safety concerns, Ma called the police to report the situation.

On Tuesday morning, Ma and a reporter with the Daily visited the place. The reporter found the trapped animal, which looked like a dog as well as a pig, lying there without moving with its front left leg held firmly by the iron jaws connected to an iron chain.

The animal was later confirmed dead. According to Ma, the animal weighed about 15 kilograms.

The reporter contacted Xu Jianyong, a staffer at the rescue center of the Shenzhen wildlife conservation. After seeing a picture of the animal, Xu confirmed that the animal was an Asian badger, a second-class nationally protected animal, which has been found in Longhua, Bao’an and Longgang districts.

Xu said that hunting national protected animals constitutes a crime and hopes people will protect wildlife and immediately report anyone who is found poaching protected animals to the rescue center or police.

(Wang Jingli)