Livestreaming platforms are being used as virtual hunting grounds, where hosts, masking their activities as “outdoor competitions,” showcase bird hunts and demonstrate “killing techniques” to attract viewers and monetize their content, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday.

The Xinhua investigation uncovered multiple livestreamers practicing illegal hunting techniques, including bird, wild boar, and rabbit shooting, on short-video platforms. Using search terms like “outdoor shooting” and “birds,” reporters found hosts encouraging violent viewer engagement, with comments such as “shoot a big one” and “show us a headshot.”

In one alarming case, an “outdoor equipment” merchant sent Xinhua journalists videos in which homemade steel pellet guns were used to kill animals from hundreds of meters away. When questioned about the killings’ legality, the seller dismissed the acts as “just a hobby, no big deal.”

China’s Wildlife Protection Law prohibits the use of poison, explosives, electronic capture devices, traps, snares, bird-catching nets, and guns to kill animals. Various hunting methods are also banned, such as nighttime illumination hunting, extermination hunting, destruction of nests, fire hunting, smoke hunting, and net trapping.

Those found to be involved in the illegal hunting, killing, or capturing of endangered wild animals under state protection may be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, plus a fine, depending on the seriousness of the crime.

He Feng, a police officer in the northeastern city of Shenyang, whose public security bureau uncovered the content, told Xinhua that illegal bird-hunting livestreamers mostly operate at night and deliberately conceal their locations during broadcasts. To circumvent platform monitoring, the hosts enforce strict chat rules, banning the birds’ proper names and using numerical codes instead.

“Slingshots, adhesive nets, and other bird hunting tools are available for sale online, with descriptions stating that they are for special industries and daily monitoring purposes,” He said. Much of the intended audience for this content is bird hunting enthusiasts, who can add the merchant’s contact information after purchasing products to receive “courses” on various techniques.

In April, Shenyang police uncovered a livestreaming operation where a suspect, surnamed Li, taught viewers how to hunt birds while promoting thermal scopes and slingshots. Li’s content, which featured him using thermal imaging to target protected species in Liaoning province, reportedly had 3 million views, and he earned over 10,000 yuan ($1,400) from product sales.

Evidence showed Li targeting birds, displayed as thermal “red dots,” for precision kills during broadcasts. His activities, which involved killing protected species, violated China’s Wildlife Protection Law.

Police officers revealed that Li had been repeatedly banned from multiple online platforms, but the bans typically lasted only one to three days. An insider told Xinhua that some hosts become active again after the ban is lifted, either by reactivating their accounts or creating new ones, as the cost of violating the rules is low.

Li confessed that his main motive for livestreaming the hunting of wild birds was to attract viewers and followers, thus driving sales of hunting equipment.

In a similar case, the environmental protection court in China’s southwestern Guizhou province convicted two livestreamers in April for illegally selling hunting gear through coded broadcasts and offline shipments. Though found guilty of illegal hunting, both defendants received suspended sentences after confessing and surrendering their profits.

Additionally, some criminals use online platforms to sell hunted birds. In a previous case in eastern Jiangsu province, poachers captured and purchased 1,263 Chinese hwamei songbirds and sold them through short video platforms and social media. The defendants were ultimately sentenced to five and a half years in prison and fined 100,000 yuan.

Banned hunting equipment continues to circulate under deceptive listings. While searches for “bird-catching nets” yield no results, euphemistic terms like “bird repellent” uncover numerous prohibited devices.

The Xinhua reporters found an account claiming to sell tools for capturing domestic chickens and pigeons, priced at around 100 yuan per set. After obtaining the merchant’s contact information, the seller boasted that their tools were “particularly effective for bird capture, hitting the target every time.”

In response to the report, He, the police officer, said that online platforms should update their keyword libraries and implement AI semantic analysis technology to better identify products and other content related to illegal activities. Accounts that repeatedly violate rules should be banned, and those involved in serious offenses should be handed over to the public security authorities for further action, he added.

To combat the rising trend of poaching, China’s Ministry of Public Security recently conducted a special operation specifically targeting internet trading platforms as part of a broader crackdown on criminal acts that endanger nationally protected birds and wildlife.

Editor: Tom Arnstein.

(Header image: Visuals from Xinhua, re-edit by Sixth Tone)