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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, December 21, 2002

Sparrow on Key Protection List in Central China

The sparrow, formerly a target of public resentment, is now a key protected animal in Central China's Hunan Province, according to the newly revised list of key wild animals to be protected in the province.


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The sparrow, formerly a target of public resentment, is now a key protected animal in Central China's Hunan Province, according to the newly revised list of key wild animals to be protected in the province.

"Whoever illegally catches, kills or engages in the sale of sparrows will be punished severely in the future," said Zhang Qixiang, head of the Wild Animal Protection Office of the Hunan Forestry Department.

Towards the end of the 1950s, the sparrow was named one of the "four pests" across China, the other three being mice, flies and mosquitos.

Sparrows were vilified mainly because they were thought to damage agricultural crops, an unsupportable act when China was suffering from food shortage.

People across the country were mobilized to eradicate the "fourpests" using every possible means.

The campaign was halted when it was realized the sparrow does more good than evil. Chinese scientists say the sparrow mainly feeds on bad insects and it is also an important pollen disseminator. On Aug. 1, 2000, the State Forestry Administration put the sparrow on a general list of wild animals to be protected.

These rehabilitation efforts checked but didn't stop altogetherthe killing of sparrows. Owing to excessive use of pesticides on crops and sparrow-hunting driven by unscrupulous restaurants, the sparrow population has dropped dramatically in China in recent years. The bird even disappeared completely in some parts of the countryside.

Chinese scientists say the steep drop of the sparrow populationhas influenced the ecological balance.


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