ODD / ODD NEWS
‘Firefly festival’ gets red light over ecological concerns
Published: May 11, 2017 06:58 PM
South China forestry officials halted a planned firefly festival Thursday over concerns that ten thousand of the bioluminescent creatures would die as a result.

Controversy over the Haikou Firefly Festival in Hainan Province first lit up when organizers announced the planned evening release of ten thousand fireflies as part of the event's program.

Local environmental protection groups and environmentalists rallied, calling for a boycott of the festival scheduled from May 12 to 14, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Officials with the Haikou Forestry Bureau said they stopped the event because organizers had not acquired the correct permits.

However, experts argued that not only would the fireflies die soon after, their release may also upset the local ecological balance.

Live fireflies are widely available online on e-commerce sites such as Taobao for around 4 yuan ($0.5) each.

Beijing Youth Daily