Chinese Government Conned By Online Retailers In Piranha Purchasing Screw Up

It is great to see that other governments are just as foolish and inefficient as ours. It is being reported out of China that the government there came up with a plan to control the growing piranha infestation in the waterways of Liuzhou by offering 1,000 yuan (around $160) for each one captured and turned into the government. By coincidence, you can actually purchase a piranha online for around $1.80. So… guess what happened?

The local government of Liuzhou in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has ended its hunt for rogue piranha fish after offering a reward which attracted thousands of hopeful fishers to local rivers. The quest to capture the troublesome fish — whose presence in the river is unexplained — has become farcical, with online retailers offering to sell and deliver piranhas to the region for 12 yuan (US$1.80) apiece. […]

Ads offering to sell piranhas proliferated meanwhile on Taobao, China’s leading online trading platform, with one vendor offering express delivery of piranhas for US$1.80 per fish from Ningbo in the coastal province of Zhejiang — some 1,600 kilometers from Liuzhou, according to state broadcaster China National Radio.

Source: Neatorama