CHANGSHA - Eleven people in central China's Hunan Province were sentenced to prison for allegedly selling poisonous dog meat, local authorities said Wednesday.

The verdict was handed down by the court of Dingcheng District in Changde City on Tuesday and the defendants were sentenced to imprisonment of one to seven years. They were also fined.

According to the court, since the beginning of 2013, the defendants killed about 1,000 dogs in the countryside with darts covered in highly toxic chemicals and stored the dog meat in a freezer.

The local police caught the suspects and seized 12 tonnes of frozen meat last December. Meat of approximately 10 dogs had been sold.

The poison was identified as succinylcholine chloride. Experts said humans can be poisoned by eating large amounts of the affected meat.