The three protected areas will include the coastline in Nanhui District, Sheshan Mountain in Songjiang District and parts of the greenbelt along the Outer-Ring Road.

The three new reserves, combined with three existing conservation zones created since 1999, combine to create no-hunting areas that cover 800 square kilometers, according to Xie Yimin, director of the wildlife conservation division of the Shanghai Agriculture and Forestry Bureau.

The bureau, together with district and county governments, will dispatch police to patrol the areas and post warning signs around their borders.

Poachers caught killing more than 50 animals will be sentenced to jail, while those with fewer games will be fined, according to the bureau.

Recent years have seen a decline in Shanghai's wildlife population mainly as a result of pollution and numerous land reclamation projects.

But city government efforts to build more green space with additional trees and grass-lands have attracted some wildlife back to their former nesting grounds in the city.

The return of wild animals, however, has created an opportunity for poachers to cash in on small animals, such as birds and frogs, which they hunt with guns and nets, officials said.

"The most important thing is to improve people's awareness of protecting wildlife," Xie said.

During a citywide bird protection program at the end of last year, inspectors in Baoshan District confiscated three nets on Changxing Island in one day.

One of the nets contained more than 40 birds and two snakes. Shanghai Zoo has to adopt tons of snakes and frogs confiscated by wildlife inspectors every year.

Shanghai is home to about 600 wildlife species.

Local residents eat some 1,000 tons of snakes, frogs and other slippery delicacies every year.

While wild snakes and frogs aren't facing extinction, if the citizens continue to feed on them, "some species are likely to die out," officials said.

(eastday.com April 16, 2003)