New Zealand released 40 sparrows for pests, then paid bounties to kill them

The house sparrow was brought to New Zealand in 1867 to help farmers deal with crop-eating insects, but the small bird soon became a problem of its own. Within a few years, while it grew in numbers, it also began damaging crops, leading farmers and authorities to turn against the species.Introduce familiar European birds to New Zealand was not uncommon. According to government encyclopedia Teara, European settlers brought many bird species to the country. Both because they missed the birds they knew from Britain and because they hoped some of them would help agriculture. In all, 130 bird species were brought to New Zealand, with 41 eventually establishing wild populations.The Canterbury Acclimatisation Society liberated 40 sparrows in 1867. The birds were expected to help control agricultural pests, particularly insects that were damaging crops. But sparrows did not remain focused on insects.