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 China’s 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).
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