YINCHUAN -- Three men in northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region have been detained for live streaming the taming of goshawk, which is under national-level protection, local forest police said Sunday.

On Dec 19, forest police of Guyuan found two men suspected of broadcasting a hawk domestication performance in a forest on a live streaming platform, attracting crowds of online viewers, but soon the show came to a halt.

Police confirmed the bird in the video as a goshawk, and the place where the suspects "performed."

At around 3 pm the same day, three suspects were arrested when they began live streaming with two hawks again.

The two hawks have been rescued and released. Further investigation continues.