Wild boar control heading in the right direction

The problem of wild boars in Hong Kong has gradually improved in recent years, said Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan, after authorities recorded their population to be nearly 900 last year – half of the count from two years ago.

In a written reply to lawmakers Wednesday, Tse said the number of wild boar black spots was 15 last year, down from 42 in 2022.

The number of human injury cases caused by wild boars was seven last year, down from 36 in 2022, he added.

The Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department has commissioned a wildlife management expert to assist in conducting an in-depth review and formulating an enhanced wild boar management action plan, said Tse.

The plan aims to cover management strategies and measures to cope with the issues caused by wild boars in rural areas.

“In formulating the new wild boar management action plan, the department will make reference to the mainland and overseas experiences and practices. The AFCD aims to complete the review in the first half of 2025,” Tse said.

Meanwhile, authorities received 1,368 reports and issued 78 fixed-penalty notices for illegal feeding of wild pigeons between August and December, Tse said.

It comes after the administration amended the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance in August to expand the feeding ban to wild pigeons and introduced a fixed penalty of HK$5,000.

“The government will assess the effectiveness of the enforcement of the feeding ban by monitoring the numbers of wild animals and feral pigeons, evaluating the latest situations of the feeding black spots, and analyzing relevant complaint figures,” he said.

(Eunice Lam)