Hunting will return to the capital's suburbs ten years after it was closed down due to tighter animal protection and gun control regulations, Beijing News reported Monday.

Beijing's Miyun county has announced a plan to reopen the Yunxiugu hunting ground, 160 kilometers from downtown, which covers a public hunting zone of 100 square kilometers, including a closed area of 6,000 mu (4 million square meters), the largest of its kind in Asia.

Built in 1994, the business ran well in its first five years, with the highest net profit of three million yuan ($450,300) in 1998, according to a hunting guide. But faced with an economic downturn, stricter controls on shotguns, and a reduction in animal numbers, the recreation area was forced to close.

Wang Zhongmin, director of the department of wild animal protection in the city's landscaping bureau, admitted there are difficulties in granting operation licenses to hunting grounds as the government has attached more importance to animal protection and the police have beefed up regulations on shotguns.

The area was shut down in 2000 and failed trying to buy new shotguns three years ago. "Sometimes it takes more than two months for the examination process to approve a bullet," said a woman responsible for the hunting ground.

The company is seeking a new business model that balances animal protection and profits, she added.