China uses abortion pill to cut gerbil population

philly ^ | Mar. 25, 2009

[JoeProBono]

BEIJING - Forestry officials in far western China have resorted to scattering abortion pills near gerbil burrows in a bid to halt a rodent plague threatening the desert region's fragile ecosystem, state media said Wednesday.

The pellets, which resemble bran feed, have "little effect on other animals," but can prevent pregnancy in gerbils and also induce abortion in already pregnant females, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

In 2003, officials installed hundreds of perches for owls and eagles hoping the birds would cut back the rodent population but gerbils have continued to be a problem, it said.

[JoeProBono]

[KayEyeDoubleDee]

Wonder what that’s gonna do to the groundwater?

[Mac from Cleveland]

Bawney Fwank has called for an emergency meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to prevent this from happening.....

[Cheesel]

Hey, that’s a guinea pig! They are from South America!

[Fast Moving Angel]

I’d be more concerned that the owls and eagles would ingest these pellets.

[JoeProBono]

It’s a rare Chinese Guinea Pig.

[Vaquero]

First Tibet, now this....I hate the Chinese

[Never on my watch]

Armageddon!

[Never on my watch]

This could jeopardize the economy of San Fransisco.

[CGASMIA68]

what happens to the OWL that eats one of these gerbils that hasnt croaked yet....Are its eggs trashed?

[dfwgator]

Wow, it took a whole 7 posts, we are slipping.

[SonnyBubba]

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

[Danae]

Get off my Gerbil man!

[fredhead]

Hey, China!!!! Kills rats and mice, should work on gerbils, too.