Park sacks employee amid butterfly abuse allegations

A nature reserve in Nanyang, Henan Province has fired an employee over allegations of animal abuse after photos of a woman at the park wearing a dress decorated with butterflies sparked public outcry.

Officials at the Baotianman Nature Reserve Area laid blame on a temporary worker for pinning over a hundred butterflies to the dress - supposedly while they were still alive - worn as part of the reserve's butterfly festival celebration on May 24.

The nature reserve maintains that most of the butterflies purchased for the occasion had died during transport from Beijing, and the employee pinned them on the model's dress "for fun," said the report.