With Animals Dying At This Rate, What's Next?

If dead pigs weren't enough, dead ducks have now been pulled from a river in southwest China.   

Residents found the dead ducks in the Nanhe river in Pengshan county, Sichuan province, and alerted the environmental department, according to reports.  The news comes as the toll of dead pigs pulled from Shanghai's Huangpu river passed 16,000.

Local residents and livestock were not at risk as the river was not used for drinking water, officials added.  They were unable to determine the cause of death as some of the ducks were already decomposed.  An initial investigation suggested that the duck corpses had originated from upstream and were not dumped by local Pengshan farmers.

The news has prompted concern and criticism from some users on weibo, China's version of Twitter, with many expressing incredulity at the government's assurance that the water is safe.  "Dead pigs, dead ducks... this soup is getting thicker and thicker," wrote one person with the username Baby Lucky.

Workers have been pulling dead pigs from Huangpu river for the past two weeks, sparking concern amongst residents and on China's microblogs. It is still not clear where the dead pigs came from.