Hong Kong wildlife chiefs to get tough on people who feed wild boars

Wildlife managers in Hong Kong are to step up their fight against people who illegally feed boars and other animals, having recorded 12 cases in the past month.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said on Thursday that it conducted a series of special operations in feeding-ban areas such as country parks in March and saw a dozen cases of illegal feeding of wild animals, including pigs and monkeys.

A department spokesman said it was still investigating the cases and it was yet to decide whether to prosecute the offenders, who could face a maximum fine of HK$10,000 (US$1,270).

A total of 27 cases were prosecuted from April 2018 to February 2019, with an average fine of HK$1,000.

“Feeding wild animals not only leads to the loss of their foraging instincts and changes their behaviour, but also poses nuisance and environmental hygiene problems,” the spokesman said.

The number of wild boars caught in Hong Kong continues to rise, along with the frequency of their chaotic appearances in urban areas.

Figures from the AFCD showed that 166 wild boars were captured from January to March this year – a big jump on the 106 caught in all of 2017.

And there were 819 boar sightings between April 2018 and January 2019, up from the 787 sightings in the whole of the previous financial year.

To cope with the increase, the AFCD will hugely expand its six-strong team for managing the boar population, bringing in another 20 people.

Yet, the city’s two hunting teams – formed by civilian volunteers – were dismissed in April after 38 years’ and 24 years’ service respectively, because members’ arms licences expired and there were already safety concerns from public.

The hunting teams carried out operations upon receiving reports from the AFCD, but it had been two years since their last operation. In the early years they would generally scare the pigs off with dogs, only killing the animals on special requests from the department.

“I am satisfied that the agriculture department will dedicate a team of 26 to handle issues regarding wild pig nuisance and neuter operations,” said Yeung Kai-kuen, the former leader of the Tai Po Wild Pig Hunting Team.

He believed that a committed team on call full time could deal with the matters more quickly than under previous arrangements.

But a Sha Tin district councillor worried that even though the department had vowed action against illegal feeding, the measures could still fall short due to a lack of enforcement.

“Most of the offenders will be fined HK$1,000 or HK$1,500, which isn’t really a lot, and that may not have much of a deterrent effect on the feeders. They may just end up feeding them less but the outcome won’t be as significant as expected,” Li Sai-wing said.

He added boars were not the only problem animal in Sha Tin, where monkeys and white pigeons also venture into urban areas looking for food.

“I also don’t think this solves the root of the problem, which is the overgrown amount of these wild animals, not finding enough food in their natural habitat, which forces them to come to the urban areas for survival,” he said.