AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolia will impose a three-year ban on hunting marmots, the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism said on Wednesday, Xinhua reports.

The reason behind the decision is preventing the bubonic plague from spreading to people, and determining the current range and population size of marmots in the country, the ministry added in the statement.

The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that is spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots. The disease can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if it isn't treated in time, according to the World Health Organization.

Currently, 17 out of all 21 Mongolian provinces are at risk for the bubonic plague, the country's National Center for Zoonotic Diseases said.