The government also recommended a HK$5,000 fixed penalty for illegal wild animal feeding, which it said was the highest among all the current fixed penalties related to contamination in public places.

In a paper submitted to Legco on Tuesday, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department described residents feeding boars as the “main cause of wild pig nuisance” in recent years.

“In order to raise public awareness in this regard and increase the deterrent effect, we consider it necessary to amend the ordinance to strengthen the curbing of feeding activities,” the department said.

2 Hongkongers attacked by wild boar while hiking in country park

“In view of the possibility of feeders shifting feeding sites and the difficulty in enforcement, it is considered more appropriate to expand the feeding ban area to the whole territory of Hong Kong.”

Authorities said they would concentrate resources for enforcement work in locations that were “most seriously impacted by wild pig nuisance and areas nearby”.

The proposed ban came after the department last November began culling wild boars found straying into urban areas, despite widespread condemnation of an approach that environmentalists called despicable and cruel. Law enforcement captured and euthanised more than 110 wild boars between last November and June this year, official statistics show.

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Culling of wild boars in Hong Kong stirs up citywide public outcry

Culling of wild boars in Hong Kong stirs up citywide public outcry

The Eurasian wild pig is the largest native terrestrial mammal in Hong Kong, with adults weighing up to 200kg and reaching 2 metres in length. If provoked, they may become aggressive and attack humans, especially males and sows with piglets.

The Hong Kong branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said it welcomed the proposed measures, noting they could “alleviate the difficulty of enforcement and conviction for illegal feeding to better protect Hong Kong wildlife”.

If fed by residents, wild animals could lose their “alertness” to human beings, encouraging them to show up more frequently in urban areas, the SPCA explained.

The society added that such behaviour could lead to conflicts if animals attempted to snatch food from people.

“The feeding ban would minimise such risks and educate the public to minimise interruption and disturbance to the wildlife animals,” an SPCA representative said.

“Apart from the feeding ban, better rubbish control should also be implemented to keep wildlife animals away from urban areas, which could be dangerous for them in many ways.”

Blood on the tracks as Hong Kong’s boar war begins

However, Dr Gary Ades, head of the fauna conservation department at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, suggested authorities should carefully designate no-feeding zones to avoid a legal grey area that might develop as people tried to feed feral dogs and cats.

“This would basically nullify the effect of the no-feed policy as the boars will still be attracted to the feral animal food,” he explained.

“These areas have added health concerns if the ferals mix closely with the wild animals. This situation should be avoided by having zones where feeding penalties are enforced for wild and feral animals.”

The Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group said it had no objection to the plan, but committee member Roni Wong Ho-yin stressed authorities had to mothball the current cull order and relaunch the “trap-neuter-return” policy for wild boars.

“We are concerned about the pigs’ survival. Residents want the government’s policies to be animal-friendly,” Wong said. “The government should bring the wilderness back to the city so that those animals won’t need to venture out to the urban areas any more.”

Hong Kong records an average of eight cases involving wild boar attacks each year, according to government data.