The Expert Committee of Wild Animal Hunting, an organization under the State Forestry Administration of China, recently approved a group of foreign hunters' applications to shoot wildlife in China. The news has gained much attention across the country.

The application was submitted by two domestic travel agencies on behalf of seven foreign hunters, who plan to shoot nine blue sheep and seven Tibetan gazelles in an international hunting ground in west China's Qinghai Province.

Despite the expert committee's approval, however, the hunters still can't fire a shot in China until they get an official license from the State Forestry Administration. According to recent news, the administration has declined the application.  

In China, blue sheep and Tibetan gazelles are ranked as Class 2 nationally protected species. Although foreign hunters' application was declined, the possibility of killing them astonished the public at large, who have been and are continually educated to preserve these species.

Responding to the public's concern, an official with the international hunting ground operation in Qinghai said they would send supervisors to monitor the whole process of hunting. Hunters are also asked to sign contracts agreeing to penalties under Chinese law for any violations of the rules during the hunt, which is shooting elderly and male animals only.

However, these measures didn't convince everyone. Some support such hunting with the view that the species can be better protected. Others maintain that hunting is uncivilized behavior driven purely by economic motives and will damage the local environmental balance.