"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.

Toward the end of the 1950s, the sparrow was named one of the country's "four pests," the other three being mice, flies and mosquitoes.

Sparrows were vilified because they were thought to damage crops. People across the country were mobilized to eradicate the "four pests" in any possible way.

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 august 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 the killing. Owing to excessive use of pesticides and sparrow hunting driven by unscrupulous restaurants, the population of sparrow has dropped dramatically in recent years.

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2002)