Public anger over bulldozed bird nests

The destruction of nearly 150 swallow nests that contained numerous nestlings sparked public outcry on Wednesday against construction operations near the Fenghe River of Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

The constructors were allegedly ordered by local authorities to bulldoze sand into holes in the channel to prevent the risk of children drowning should they fall into them.

"We will avoid swallow nests during construction and try to take the sands from other places," a worker surnamed Sun told the agency on Tuesday.

But by Wednesday evening, the swallow nests had been turned into a heap of ruin.

"Why could they not preserve the habitats of the swallows and keep them alive?" a citizen named Li said angrily.

The street office and the Urban Construction Company both refuse to take responsibility for the incident.