A few days after being set free in the wild, dozens of raccoon dogs and Arctic foxes were found dead in Beijing's Huairou district, according to the Beijing Evening News.

A preliminary investigation suggested that the animals had been bred for their fur but were purchased and deliberately freed.

Two witnesses said about 300 to 400 foxes and raccoon dogs were released from trucks on March 27. In the following days, local villagers reported that their poultry had been "harassed" and killed as the dogs and foxes sought food.

To prevent further financial losses, the local forest authority sent out 30 officers to catch the dogs and foxes on Saturday. So far, 80 have been found. Of those, 40 had died because they were incapable of surviving in the wild, the authorities said. The rest were sent to a wild animal rescue center in Beijing.

According to the Huairou Forestry Bureau, advance approval is required before setting living things free in the wild, including mammals, birds or turtles. Neither the municipal forestry bureau nor the district bureau received any application for a large-scale release, they said.

Even though the police are still looking for the responsible parties, it is believed likely the incident was driven by goodwill. Some people believe it's morally right to buy caged animals and then set them free. There is even an underground industry that derives profits from such feelings, according to the authorities.

Kong Lingshui, the law enforcement team leader at the Beijing forestry authority, said he once monitored an activity in the city's Changping district in which participants paid 530 yuan ($82) to set animals free.

"The foxes released in March were purchased outside Beijing," Kong said. "They don't know how to hunt for food in the wild. And after being set free the majority of them will die," Kong said.

"Setting animals free without doing an investigation could also have a negative influence on the ecological balance. If foxes don't have natural enemies here, the number of foxes will grow very fast and threaten other species. That's the reason why an application is needed before doing this," he said.

Kong told the newspaper that in recent years many birds, snakes and bullfrogs were bought and set free by people.

"Many snakes were bought in the warm southern part of China and they cannot live in cold Beijing," Kong said. "Setting free captive species is something that needs scientific guidance."

(China Daily 04/13/2016 page5)