NANJING -- A court in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, has sentenced a man to four months in detention for illegally hunting and trading wild yellow weasels and squirrels.

The court held the public trial online Thursday with representatives from the procuratorate, the city's detention center and the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Environmental Sciences attending via teleconference.

Although weasels and squirrels are not on the list for rare animal protection, hunting wild animals in nature reserves is prohibited in China. Police across China have tightened up law enforcement against wild animal poaching during the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Gusu District People's Court in Suzhou heard that the man used clips to trap yellow weasels and squirrels near the Taihu Lake. Police arrested him on Feb. 4 and seized 10 dead yellow weasels and five red-bellied squirrels at his home.

Dr. Yang Guodong, a trial support expert from the environmental sciences academy, said the wild animals may carry viruses and parasites, which bear risks of transmitting diseases from animals to humans.

"Hunting, transporting, processing and eating wild animals could cause and spread the virus and incur ecological imbalance," he said.