Bear specimen sold for 600,000 yuan

Endangered-animal specimens fetched high prices at a Beijing exhibition hall, with one man paying 600,000 yuan ($97,000) for a polar bear, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The report said the sale or collection of wild animal specimens is allowed if permission and a collection certificate have been obtained from the forestry bureau. Buyers use such specimens to decorate businesses or houses. Animal protection experts say the specimens should not be collected privately.