The cost of looking after horses for Dalian's mounted police revealed by the city's public security bureau has been questioned by industry insiders, Beijing News reported on Wednesday.

In response to a call that urged the city to disband its mounted police unit, police said the monthly cost of keeping a horse is around 2,500 yuan ($408).

However, sources from racecourse operators were quoted saying that the police may have deliberately missed out labor and transportation costs.

The industry insiders said the average cost of keeping a horse stands at 4,000 yuan ($653).

Labor forms a considerable part of the total cost, ranging from 3,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan per month, they said.

Transporting around 20 horses from Hong Kong to Dalian was estimated to cost 1.5 million yuan ($244,800).

The local authorities have failed to respond so far.