Lights out: China’s firefly display called off after animal rights group’s open letter

A firefly display in China has been called off two days after its launch, due to pressure from an animal rights group.

The event’s organiser, Orange Island Sand Land Park, received an open letter from the Changsha Wildlife Conservation Association, informing it that it might have broken the law by capturing wild animals, China News Service reported.

The event, featuring tens of thousands of fireflies in Changsha, Hunan, might also upset the local ecological balance by introducing the new species to the area, it said.

After the letter was published, the city’s forestry department cancelled the display, citing the organiser’s failure to provide licences to transport and breed the creatures.

It was the latest firefly display to be called off.

Previous exhibitions in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Qingdao and Nanchang were also cancelled because of their fireflies’ murky origins and the creatures’ potential impact on the environment. Others were cancelled due to security concerns or because their advertisements were misleading. Angry tourists wrought havoc at a park in Hangzhou last year after they did not see as many fireflies as the advertisement had promised.