China's State Forestry Administration has approved the application of seven U.S. hunters who seek to shoot nine blue sheep and seven Tibetan antelopes, both second-class protected animals in the country.

Tibetan antelopes [File photo]?

After four hours of talks, the application was finally passed by a 12-member expert committee under the authorization of the Department of Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Management.

The approval triggered hot debates among society. Many netizens questioned the legality of the hunt. Questions like why the authorities launched the program, what are the specified examination and approval procedures, and whether there is a monitoring system for hunting remain widespread causes for concern.

The hunt has fulfilled legal requirements and is conducive to the scientific and reasonable use of wildlife resources, the committee said.

It explained that "special hunting" for scientific research, domestication and breeding, and exhibition purposes is allowed in China.

In addition, hunting quotas are strictly controlled under five percent in line with the international standard, according to the report.

For example, the annual quota for the Dulan Hunting Ground, where the U.S. hunters applied, is 520 for the blue sheep and 53 for the Tibetan antelope, accounting for 1.22 percent and 3.48 percent of the total number, respectively.

The natural deaths for Tibetan antelopes are 20 to 30 per year, and the resource will be wasted without such a hunting program. Selective hunting will not adversely affect the local wildlife and positively serves herdsmen's interests, the report revealed.

Hunting revenues would be put into wildlife conservation. According to the bureau’s statistics, a total of 4 million yuan in tax revenue was earned through the hunting program from 1998 to 2006, 70 percent of which was used to fund local wildlife conservation.

Advanced experiences from western countries are also applied for monitoring, such as marking the target prey and launching a strict inspection system. The old, male and sick ones are priorities for the hunt.

This is the first time the State Forestry Administration has approved such an application since it imposed a moratorium on hunting in 2006 after its announcement of international auctions of hunting rights drew fire.

The Dulan Hunting Ground, which is located in China's western Qinghai province, is 26,000 kilometers in size and is home to around 40,000 blue sheep, 1,500 Tibetan antelopes and 600 white-lipped deer.