Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumChina faces criticism for attempts to exterminate real-life 'Pikachu' with mass poisonings
The Chinese government is trying to exterminate the animal that may well have inspired the much-loved Pokemon character Pikachu despite repeated warnings from scientists.
The small, mouse-like pika lives in vast networks of burrows across northwest China on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, but has been classified as a pest by officials who believe it has a damaging impact on grasslands.
According to researchers from Arizona State University, local authorities have been trying to destroy pika populations since 1958, when poisoning programmes were first sanctioned.
By 2006, almost 360,000 square km of land had been treated with zinc phosphate in Chinas Qinghai province alone. The government then issued a huge grant for a new phase of poisoning which, as of the end of 2014, was scheduled to have targeted a further 110,000 square km costing around $35 million (£22.8 million).
more
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-faces-criticism-from-conservation-scientists-for-attempts-to-exterminate-reallife-pikachu-with-mass-poisoning-9956105.html
Poor critter.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)NickB79
(19,253 posts)We've waged a war to exterminate those poor creatures for almost all of the 20th century, using the same excuse.