HONG KONG – They’ve taken a subway ride, walk around at pedestrian crossings and are fed by local residents. But now wild boar Finally the authorities have gone a step too far hong kong,
animal related incidents, who have long roamed the hills and surrounding hiking trails bustling metropolis, culminated in the bite of a police officer last week.
In response, officials in the Asian hub are cracking down.
Officials said they began hunting the boar on Wednesday night with an operation that captured and killed seven wild boars less than half an hour from the city’s financial center.
The decision to use drug injections for “humane dispatch” of animals marks a change from the previous policy of capturing, neutering and relocating them to remote areas.
Hong Kong’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation (AFCD) said in a statement That the previous approach had failed to “effectively control wild pig infestation”.
The number of injuries to pigs has increased in recent years, as the animals often wander through busy urban areas in search of food, the statement said.
Officials have long warned that the animals could pose a physical danger and carry disease, but locals nonetheless rejoiced at the many bizarre boar encounters.
In September 2020, a group of four wild boars took a dip In the fountain near a Bank of China in the main financial center. He was also seen roaming around Hong Kong in several other areas. In June this year, a small pig was given a. was seen resting on the seats of metro carLooks tired after a long journey.
However, evil animals are not always calm.
comes after a change in policy violent encounter Last week in which a wild boar pummeled a police officer and bit his leg. The pig later died after falling from a residential car park.
After this, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam spoke, warning of harsh punishment for anyone who feeds the pigs. “I understand that many people in Hong Kong love wetlands and nature,” she told a news conference earlier this week. “However, we also need to protect public safety.”
Lam said there have been about 30 cases of wild boars attacking humans. “When things go bad we just can’t sit on our hands,” she said.
According to government figures, the city is home to about 3,000 wild boars, and they are not a protected species.
And such incidents are not limited to Hong Kong. pop superstar shakira In September, a pair of wild boars attacked her and snatched her purse while she was walking with her son in a park in Spain.
The Italian capital, Rome, has also seen a wild boar attack, which sparked a frenzy ahead of local elections earlier this year.
Animal rights groups criticized the new campaign for tackling the boar menace.
The local chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals expressed its concern on Facebook Statement, Its members “condemn” the decision to slaughter the boar, saying that “a non-lethal approach to wildlife management is always preferred.”
An online petition, co-signed by various animal activist groups, has also been circulated, urging the government to roll back its new policy.
Ronnie Wong, spokesman for the Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group, blamed the local government for the root of the boar problem. Wong said officials had failed to allocate resources to deal with the animals in a peaceful manner, according to Reuters.
“Now the animals have to pay the price,” Wong said.
Reuters And The Associated Press has contributed.