Cooking and eating field mice won't stop the rodents from
continuing to cause havoc in central China's Hunan Province, health
officials warned on Thursday.
The warning came against some netizens' latest joking advice
that field mice be caught and sent to southern Guangdong Province
where mice dishes are popular delicacies on every day's dining
table.
Following the recent flooding caused by lingering heavy rains
along the Yangtze River, nearly 2 billion field mice were forced to
migrate to surrounding areas around the Dongting Lake in Hunan
province. These invaders were reported to have occupied 20 counties
and have so far devoured around 1.6 million hectares of farm land,
prompting many residents to fight them with clubs and shovels.
A health official from Guangzhou condemned the irresponsible
online mice-recipe postings. The official said the capital of
Guangdong Province had banned all kinds of rat and mice dishes and
related food products since SARS, the epidemic which first
out-broke in Guangdong in November 2002 and spread around the world
in 2003.
The official also warns the public must take care since field
mice might carry viruses, and there is no scientific evidence
eating the animals are good for one's health.
(CRI July 13, 2007)