A court in China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Thursday heard the region's first public interest litigation against poachers.

Prosecutors in Qonggyai county filed the case against four people found hunting Alpine musk deer, a Class-A protected animal in China, on May 16.

The four defendants illegally sold the musk obtained from the deer. The regional forestry department evaluated the poachers had caused economic losses of 240,000 yuan (around 36,2500 U.S. dollars).

"The case is expected to offer legal remedies for the loss and show Tibet's determination to protect wildlife," said Shen Xiaoding, a member of the regional procuratorate.

The verdict will be passed at a later date.

China's top legislature passed amendments to the civil and administrative procedure laws to allow prosecutors to institute public interest litigation in June 2017. The move aims to better protect the interests of the nation and the public, especially concerning environment and resource protection and food safety.