Police in Sichuan Province detained three men accused of poisoning more than 100 dogs and selling them to restaurants for meat.

The suspects hunted the pets down with a crossbow and cyanide-tipped arrows, Chengdu Business Daily reported Sunday.

The trio was spotted by a dog owner in Yibin's Pingshan county as they attempted to sneak his drugged pet from his yard on December 19.

When confronted by the owner, surnamed Hu, one of the thieves attacked him with a steel bar, knocking him unconscious, police said.

DNA and other evidence collected at the scene helped police connect the men to reports of more than 100 stolen dogs. One of the men has a prior conviction for dog theft.

"The cyanide-tipped arrows they used are imported from abroad. They're the same kind poachers use to anesthetize elephants," said a policeman working the case. The dosage is enough to endanger a man's life, he added.

Police said dog meat fetches up to 110 yuan ($16.7) a kilogram at local market prices.

 An investigation is underway to find how the men acquired the illegal equipment and track down the buyers of the dog meat, police said.

Chengdu Business Daily