Two men have been detained in Songjiang District of Shanghai City on suspicion of killing dogs with poison darts and bones laced with cyanide to sell their meat.

The pair, surnamed Li and Zhao, face charges of producing and selling toxic food, the Songjiang District People's Procuratorate said yesterday.

There have been no reports of anyone becoming ill after eating the meat, they added.

According to prosecutors, Li and Zhao bought at a market bones doused with cyanide, intended to be used to kill rats.

In June, they drove along streets and threw a bone out of their van window when they saw a dog, it is claimed.

When a dog gnawed the bone and died they are said to have put the carcass in their van.

The pair are said to have eaten the first two dogs they killed.

They used the same technique to kill three dogs in early July, two of which were sold at a market, said prosecutors.

And they are said to have gone on another "hunt" days later, selling two dog carcasses.

In late July, by now also armed with a crossbow and poison darts, the pair set off on another killing spree, said prosecutors.

This time they are said to have killed six dogs.

They were reported to Songjiang police and held by officers when they tried to hunt more dogs, said prosecutors.

It is unclear if the dogs they killed were pets or strays.

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