Video: How sparrows were massacred in China and what this led to
2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55
The ruler's rash actions lead to dire consequences. Example: the failed pest control campaign of Mao Zedong, with the light hand of which sparrows in China were declared the main enemies of agriculture, and the people in general.
The destruction of birds became a national idea, an integral part of the communist development of the state. This is not fiction, not someone's fantasy, but a real historical fact. Absurd? This did not seem to the Chinese government in the middle of the last century. What exactly did the birds get in the way of Mao Zedong, and how did the bird genocide turn out for the population?
Campaign posters as a method of combating feathered pests.
Back in 1958, a new campaign called the Great Leap Forward was announced in China. Within the framework of the next five-year plan (1958 - 1963), ambitious goals aimed at the economic recovery of the state should have been realized. The elimination of sparrows is one of the strategic objectives of this program.
At the February 1857 Congress of the Communist Party, a speech by Zhou Jian, a renowned Chinese biologist, was in the spotlight.
While holding the post of Deputy Minister of Education, he decided to make some changes in the sphere of the economy, which, as it seemed to him, could radically change the state of affairs in the country. He convinced the members of the Communist Party that the flourishing of agriculture in China will not be seen until they begin to fight against its pests.
Campaign posters from the Great Leap Forward in China.
Rats, flies, sparrows and mosquitoes had to be dealt with immediately. They are the main enemies of the agricultural sector - every year a huge amount of harvest is destroyed by rodents, insects and birds.
Referring to the calculations of Chinese researchers, Zhou Jian cited the following figures: the cereals eaten by sparrows in just a year could be enough to provide food for 35 million people.
As a native of the countryside, Mao Zedong knew firsthand how the peasants were constantly fighting pests. Therefore, Zhou Jian's plan was immediately approved by the head of the Communist Party. This is how the program for the destruction of birds and other "objectionable" representatives of the fauna was launched.
Pest Control in China under the Great Leap Forward Program.
Note that the war with rats from the very beginning did not give any results. After all, dealing with rodents that can adapt to any conditions is not an easy task. Mosquitoes and flies are even more difficult. The insects did not even feel the hostilities. But the sparrows in China have become the main victims of an ill-conceived, very absurd policy.
The fight with the birds has become a fix idea. The Chinese people took up bird-fighting with great enthusiasm. All kinds of torture the unfortunate sparrows have not felt. Mass captures and poisoning did not lead to the desired effect. Then the destruction of sparrows by the method of starvation was used.
Having found out that birds can fly continuously only for fifteen minutes (their body cannot withstand heavy loads), the enthusiastic people tried to prevent the birds from sitting on a branch and resting.
Waving sticks, rags, shots from slingshots, loud exclamations, whistling, clinking pots have become commonplace on the streets of China. When a creature deprived of strength fell to the ground, it was immediately finished off by any means at hand. Everyone, young and old, gathered in droves to deal with the hated "parasites".
The effectiveness of the method was manifested already from the first days of the start of the campaign, which made the population even more excited. Only three days were enough to destroy more than 900,000 birds in the vicinity of Beijing and Shanghai.
Huge heaps of dead passerine bodies filled the Chinese streets. Against the background of the killed birds, photographs were taken, detailed reports were drawn up for the Communist Party. The most inveterate enthusiasts among schoolchildren were awarded with diplomas.
Opponents of the program were out of the question - no one wanted to obstruct the policy of the authoritarian ruler. Scientists had no choice but to silently observe the absurd actions. Not only sparrows, but also other birds fell under the distribution.
The 1958 harvest was much better than the previous harvest, according to official statements from government officials. However, in reality the numbers were much lower.
The next two years turned out to be even worse. Spawned insects, in particular locusts, began to massively eat agricultural crops. The weather was also not good for the Chinese - in 1959 - 1960 there was practically no rain.
All these factors influenced the low yield, as a result of which famine broke out in the country, the victims of which were 10-30 million people.
Soon the bird control program was stopped - sparrows in China were no longer endangered. But there were practically none of them here. To restore the natural balance, the birds had to be brought back.
Canada and the USSR brought their birds in whole containers to save the Chinese economy. The situation gradually began to change, but the results of the Great Leap Forward policy made themselves felt for a long time.
Thus, one ill-considered decision by the Chinese leader led to very sad consequences.
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