More than 30,000 chickens descend upon pastureland plagued by locusts to eradicate the pest in Zhangbei County, North China's Hebei Province.

The insects have devastated a record 26,600 hectares of natural pastureland so far this year. But the locusts have met their match in the massive flocks of chickens herded onto the grasslands. Experts believe they will control locusts across some 9,000 hectares or over one-third of the total area affected.

(China Daily Aug 7, 2003)