BEIJING, Aug 11 (AP) -- China's government has postponed its planned first auction of licenses to hunt wild animals following a public outcry, a news report said Friday.

The planned auction, scheduled for Sunday, had prompted criticism on Web sites that such hunting was inappropriate and the sale of licenses commercially motivated.

"The auction will be held in a proper way after soliciting suggestions from the public," said Cao Qingyao, a spokesman for the State Forestry Administration, quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Cao didn't say when the auction might be held.

Authorities had said winning bidders at the auction in the southwestern city of Chengdu could buy the right to hunt yak and other animals, though not endangered species.