The Four Pests campaign was an extermination campaign launched by Mao Zedong in 1958 in the People's Republic of China. The campaign aimed to eradicate the four pests responsible for the spread of disease and crop destruction: rats, flies, mosquitoes, and sparrows. This campaign was part of the overall Great Leap Forward initiative to improve agricultural production.

To eliminate the pests, people were encouraged to set traps, use chemical sprays, and set off firecrackers to scare the birds away. The campaign was also a social movement, with people engaging in organized public activities dedicated to pest control.

The campaign was highly successful in reducing the number of pests, but it also had unintended consequences. The sparrow population declined so much that it disrupted the ecological balance, leading to an increase in crop-eating insects. This, in turn, led to decreased agricultural production and a famine in some areas. The Four Pests campaign was eventually ended in 1962, and the sparrow population began to recover.