Forced retirement for these unlucky creatures.

Led by Huashang Morning Post, Chinese print media reported yesterday on an online proposal to drop the rat, snake, rooster, and pig from the roster of 12 zodiac animals, and to replace them with the lion, fish, phoenix, and crane.

The reasoning in the original forum post is that rats eat grain stores and chew clothing, snakes carry a bad connotation, pigs are lazy, and "rooster" has the same pronunciation as "famine." The proposed replacements have more pleasant connotations - the lion is the king of beasts, the phoenix carries good luck, the crane represents long-life, and the fish, of course, is a popular New Year's symbol of plenty.

Swapping out several animals also has the potential to cut down on superstition-related troubles. With the Year of the Rooster changed to Year of the Phoenix, for example, there would no longer be any problem with people born in that year getting married or having children in the Year of the Monkey, a serious no-no according to various folk sayings.