The Hong Kong government has spent around HK$21 million annually on wild boar management work over the past three years, as veterinary officers culled more than 630 wild pigs between January and November.
There had been a “gradual improvement” of the situation regarding wild pig nuisance in Hong Kong in recent years, with the overall population of wild boars falling from around 2,500 in 2019 to around 900 this year, Acting Secretary for Environment and Ecology Diane Wong told the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
In the first 11 months of 2024, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) conducted 317 wild pig capture and dispatch operations across the city, the official wrote in a written reply to questions raised by lawmaker Chan Yuet-ming.
A total of 633 wild boars were killed. In the Southern district, 96 wild pigs were captured and culled by the AFCD, the highest number across all of the 18 districts in the city. The department did not conduct any operations in Kwai Ching, Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong, or the outlying islands.
Wong told the legislature that AFCD officers used dart guns with anaesthetic to capture the wild boars, before “dispatching” them with an injection of drugs. The department has conducted more frequent operations since 2023, with at least 28 operations per month, while surveillance cameras and new trapping devices had been used to improve the efficiency of operations, Wong said.
In November 2021, the government dropped its long-standing trap, neuter, return (TNR) policy, which stipulated that wild pigs in urban areas were captured and returned to the wild. The change came after a police officer was bitten by a wild boar in Tin Hau. In 2021, authorities received 20 reports of people being injured by boars, a sharp increase from the number in 2020, when just three were injured.
The decision came under fire by 13 animal rights groups, which drafted a petition to urge the AFCD to withdraw the policy, calling it “extremely unreasonable.”
Legislator Chan cited an incident last month when a 68-year-old farmer was attacked in Ta Kwu Leng on November 15. According to local media reports, the man was working on the farm when a 200-pound wild boar suddenly appeared. The animal charged at the farmer and bit him, leaving wounds on his legs and bum.
Chan said farmers in the North District had suffered considerable economic losses because fences installed did not stop wild pigs from intruding into the agricultural fields. She asked if the government would consider adopting more effective measures to manage wild pigs in the New Territories.
In response, Wong said the AFCD regularly holds seminars to explain methods for preventing wild boars on farmland, including building sturdy fences or electric fences and using sound or light to drive them away. Eligible farmers may apply for a government grant under the Farm Improvement Scheme to buy equipment for preventing wild pigs.
Between January and December 10, AFCD staff conducted 101 capture operations following complaints over nuisance or damage caused by wild pigs on farmlands or in rural areas. A total of 224 wild pigs were euthanised.
Wong added the AFCD is reviewing its current management strategies and has commissioned wildlife management experts to formulate an enhanced action plan. The review is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.
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