Mao declaring sparrows a plague and ordering their extermination. This was because sparrows were eating the grain in the fields and were seen as a pest.
However the extermination of the sparrows led to a catastrophic rise in the pest insect population which devastated Chinese agriculture as they did not have access to sufficient amounts of pesticides. The birds also spread many native plant’s seeds through eating their berries and defecating, so the death of the sparrows led to extremely damaging ecological effects on the native plant life.
What event are they refering to?
Mao declaring sparrows a plague and ordering their extermination. This was because sparrows were eating the grain in the fields and were seen as a pest.
However the extermination of the sparrows led to a catastrophic rise in the pest insect population which devastated Chinese agriculture as they did not have access to sufficient amounts of pesticides. The birds also spread many native plant’s seeds through eating their berries and defecating, so the death of the sparrows led to extremely damaging ecological effects on the native plant life.
Have sparrows been successfully reintroduced?
Over time their numbers rose to normal levels again.