A court in Tibet has jailed fourteen people for illegally trading in the fur of the rare Tibetan Antelope, a protected species.

The poachers are reported to have killed more than five hundred antelopes for their fur, known as shahtoosh, used in luxury Western clothes.

The sentences range from three to thirteen years.

Environmentalists have welcomed the sentences, which are thought to be among the most severe for such offences ever given by the Chinese authorities.