An adult panda was shot dead and cut into pieces for sale by two farmers in southwestern Sichuan Province.

The farmers, who sold the panda paws for 1,350 yuan (US$164), were arrested by police.

The two farmers, surnamed Liu and Li, killed the panda in early June to make money even though they knew it was illegal to kill pandas.

They cut the paws off the animal and buried the rest of the body.

When police recovered the remains at an altitude of 2,500 meters, the body had already decayed.

According to experts at a nearby panda reserve, the panda was about six years old and healthy when it was killed.

(Shenzhen Daily July 23, 2003)