Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department announced on Friday that it will begin to humanely euthanise wild boars which enter urban areas “with a view to reducing their number and nuisance.” It comes days after a boar bit a police officer.
The AFCD said 36 injuries from boars had been recorded over the past decade. Thirty of the incidents occurred since 2018, marking a sharp rise. “Some wild pigs are even accustomed to wandering in busy urban areas or roads and thus bring potential danger to members of the public and road users. In recent years, the number of injury cases caused by wild pigs is on the rise,” a press release said.
On Tuesday night, an auxiliary police officer was attacked by a boar in Tin Hau. It bit his right calf and buttocks before falling to its death from a car park. The officer was treated at Queen Mary Hospital.
“Under the new strategy, the AFCD will conduct wild pig capture operations every month by using dart guns with anaesthetics to capture target wild pigs for humane dispatch,” Friday’s statement read. “Priority will be given to sites with large numbers of wild pigs, and those with past injury cases or with wild pigs which may pose risks to members of the public.”
The spokesperson urged the public not to feed boars.
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