Wild boar attacks drop 80pc after HK culls 650 in 2024

Wildlife authorities killed over 650 wild boars last year, more than double from the previous two years, while incidents of boar-related injuries were down by 80 percent, according to a government reply to lawmakers on Tuesday.

Since 2021, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has been humanely capturing and euthanizing wild boars that pose risks or cause nuisances, replacing sterilization and release to better address the animal’s rapid reproduction rate.

Veterinary officers culled 657 wild boars in 2024, a drastic increase of 125 percent from 292 in 2022, according to the Environment and Ecology Bureau’s documents prepared for the special meetings of Legco’s Finance Committee.

To enhance the efficiency of capture operations, authorities noted that since 2023, they have set up infrared cameras to monitor wild boar movements and introduced a new model of traps.

For the fiscal year 2024-25, the AFCD spent a total of HK$22.8 million on boar-related management work, which translates to roughly HK$34,700 per wild boar culled.

The AFCD considered “the problem of wild boar disturbances in Hong Kong has gradually improved,” as it estimated that the population of wild boars in the city has shrunk by half from 1,830 in 2022 to 900 in 2024. 

The department reported a decline in boar-related incidents in 2024 compared to 2022. Sightings and nuisance cases dropped by 3 percent, from 1,133 to 1,098, while injury reports saw a reduction of 80 percent, decreasing from 36 to seven.

(Jamie Liu)