This photo, released on Thursday by police, shows snares and other tools used to hunt badgers on Jeju Island.

Five men face indictment after hunting badgers, one of the species that is on the list of wild animals under government protection in Korea, according to police on Friday.

The five are expected to stand trial in Jeju for capturing and killing 21 badgers by using traps and hunting dogs on mountains and hills across the island for two years from early 2022, police said.

One of the men, who is in his 50s, also faces additional charges of hunting five pheasants, also included on the list, with his air rifle during the closed season.

The suspects told police that they hunted the badgers for meat. They said they had already consumed some of the meat "for health reasons" after grilling or using other methods to cook it. Badger meat is thought to have health benefits in Korea, where in 2020 more than 1,900 badgers were being raised on farms for their meat, according to a report published by Korean and U.K. scholars last year.

"We will continue to respond to illegal hunting sternly as such hunters could potentially lead to the collapse of Jeju's ecosystem," Lee Soon-ho, a senior police officer, told reporters.

According to the state-run National Institute of Biological Resources, more than 470 species of wild animals have been designated for protection from hunting. Violators could face up to five years in prison or a maximum fine of 50 million won ($36,000).