Camels, some with mutilated limbs, are being exploited by beggars around the nation, it has been revealed.

According to news website www.guancha.cn, camels with obvious injuries have been spotted in several cities, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wenzhou, Shaoxing, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Jiujiang and Hefei. [Photo/china.org.cn]

Previously, it was known that children and adults were targeted by beggar gang bosses who break their arms and legs and send them out to beg on streets.

But recently a number of online posts with pictures have exposed similar treatment meted out to camels in a bid to gain sympathy from the public and increase gang bosses' incomes.

According to news website www.guancha.cn, camels with obvious injuries have been spotted in several cities, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wenzhou, Shaoxing, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Jiujiang and Hefei.

The latest case was in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province. Yesterday's People's Daily website said that two men in ragged clothes, one young and one old, were seen holding a camel, kneeling down and begging passersby for money just last Friday.

When police arrived they found the camel had no hooves, with wounds indicating they had been deliberately cut.

A witness told the website the beggars had been in Fuzhou for several months. An article on the city's news portal (www.fznews.com.cn) in April said the pair could make hundreds of yuan in just two or three hours.

The People's Daily website said police had begun an investigation into the beggars and the mutilation of the camel.

Previously, the Fuzhou Evening News reported the case of a camel found by the roadside in Fuzhou.

Earlier, it had been seen being led through the streets by a beggar. The camel was taken to a zoo to be looked after, but several days later the owner claimed it back.

The paper said beggars were escaping punishment because it was difficult to find hard evidence they were responsible for the camels' injuries.