Environmentalists in Nanjing jointly signed and issued an open letter on July 12 to boycott the upcoming firefly release activity in the city’s theme park Flower Valley, which has become a sensation on the social networking platform WeChat.
The Flower Valley Park plans to release 100,000 fireflies from July 22 to July 24, and on Double Seventh Festival, or Chinese Valentine’s Day, in order to attract tourists.
However, the plan is now faced with strong opposition from the environmentalists, who believe that insects have their own most suitable habitats, and such balance should not be broken at will. Actually the lightening bugs’ fly all over the sky is meant to attract mates or reproduce. People should enjoy the natural beauty without affecting their reproduction. These fireflies are prone to death for the failure to get adapted to the local environment. Even if they survive, they will also have an impact on local fireflies and other creatures in the ecosystem. Capturing and releasing fireflies is not something romantic but rather a harm.
