Some 900 illegally bred cobras in a private farm in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, have been transferred to a licensed wildlife farm in Taizhou, Jiangsu, Yangtse.com reported. Fifty of the reptiles are still missing.

Organized by Nanjing forestry authority, the 900 cobras were put into special containers and escorted to Taizhou by police on Thursday, to allay fear of people.

After that, the illegal farm and its surrounding areas were cordoned off for disinfection.

The operation of 50 cobras that escaped from the private farm in Luhe district of Nanjing is continuing. About 150 staff members are on the hunt for them in the surrounding areas.

The snakes disappeared between Aug 26 and 29, but it was only this week that the local people found out through social media. The illegal farm's owner had not reported the incident to authority until a cobra was found and killed in a villager's home on Saturday.

Citizens around the cobra farm are still in shock. Many residents living near the illegal farm have rushed to seal windows and doors with lime.

"Since we do not know where the missing cobras are, children and the elderly are all very afraid," said a villager surnamed Liu near the illegal farm while mixing the lime. "Experts said that sealing houses with lime can hold back those cobras."

Insiders said that although it is hard to get official permission from forestry authorities to breed snakes, high profits have driven some people to raise them secretly.

Not only cobras are welcomed by pharmaceuticals companies and restaurants, but also the cobra-soaked wine can be sold at a very high price in the market, according to a snake breeding base manager in Jiangning, Jiangsu province, who gave only her surname Chen.

"The wine made with cobras can be sold at 5,000 to 6,000 yuan ($744 to $892) per 500 gram, although the wine itself may be very cheap," Chen said.