Fixed penalty for illegal wildlife feeding to simplify prosecution procedure: environmental chief

Cases of wild boar attacks soared in recent years. The new environmental chief said that a fixed fine for illegal wild animal feeding that was proposed earlier is aimed to simplify the prosecution procedure. Stray cats and dogs will not be included in the policy.

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan noted that wild boars have been a serious issue, with the number of wild boar-related reports rising from 583 in 2016 to 1,417 in 2021, and the cases of injuries involving boars increasing from 4 in 2016 to 22 in 2021. As of May this year, the number of wild boar attacks has risen to 25.

The government has recently submitted a proposal to the Legislative Council proposing to extend the no-feeding zone of wild animals from selected areas to the whole city, increase the fine for feeding wildlife from HK$10,000 to HK$100,000, as well as to introduce a fixed fine of HK$5,000 plus a one-year jail sentence.

Tse said at a committee in the Legislative Council on Monday that the fixed fine of HK$5,000 is aimed to simplify the process of prosecuting offenders and reducing the need for manpower in dealing with these cases.

Feeding feral pigeons may be considered illegal, Tse added. But the stray cats and dogs will not be included in the policy.

He further commented that once feeding is reduced, the wild boars will become increasingly agitated and begin to demand food from people, increasing the likelihood of attacks; wild boars must be culled to reduce the chance for attacks.

Tse pointed out that the goal of the government is not to exterminate the wild boars, but to gradually change the animals’ feeding habits, with the boars foraging solely in their natural habitats.

“Wild boars are smart animals -- as long as we continue our policies, they will soon learn to find food in the wild and not to enter urban areas. This is the best way for protecting both the citizens and the boars,” Tse said.