Letters | Hong Kong’s wild boar cull raises larger questions about protection of biodiversity
- The government’s decision to kill boars in urban areas should prompt reflection on whether human beings’ relationship with animals can be more than just predator-prey, especially as climate change threatens the city’s biodiversity
Hong Kong is small and densely populated, but not many are aware that the city is incredibly rich in biodiversity. The city is home to 3,300 plant species, 55 terrestrial mammal species, 115 amphibian and reptile species, 193 freshwater fish species, 129 dragonfly species and 245 butterfly species. The 550 bird species recorded in the city represent one-third of the total in China.
Occupying only 0.03 per cent of the marine area of China, the city accounts for 26 per cent of marine species recorded in China. With 84 hard coral species, Hong Kong has a higher coral diversity than the Caribbean Sea.
Given these facts, it might not be surprising that Hong Kong has for three consecutive years stayed in the top three positions in the City Nature Challenge, an annual global challenge to document urban biodiversity.
