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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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China Uses 'the Pill' to Stop Gerbil Overpopulation

Officials hide contraceptive meds in gerbil feed

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(Newser) – Chinese officials have resorted to contraceptive pills to control the exploding gerbil population threatening a fragile desert ecosystem, the BBC reports. The government is placing feed pellets mixed with the medication by the gerbils’ burrows, which damage the roots of what plants survive there. Authorities have tried measures to boost gerbil predators—eagles and owls—but to no effect on the rodent population.

A gerbil is shown in this undated file photo.
A gerbil is shown in this undated file photo.   (©orangeacid)
A gerbil is shown in this undated photo.
A gerbil is shown in this undated photo.   (Wikimedia Commons)
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It's a good way to tackle the desert rat plague.
- Du Yuefei, Xinjiang Forestry Official

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1 comment
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Robert_Dada
Mar 25, 09 5:02 PM CDT
Please put it in the human water supply. There are way too many people on this planet which is the real problem. Climate change, health care, deforestation, famine, disease, etc. We keep addressing the symptoms as if they are the root cause. The root cause is - TOO MANY PEOPLE. Reply
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China • ecology • population control • desert • rodents • rodent • Xinjiang • owls

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