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Hong Kong euthanized over 700 wild boars last year as population halves since policy reinstatement
🇭🇰 Hong Kong /Environment & Climate

Hong Kong euthanized over 700 wild boars last year as population halves since policy reinstatement

From Hong Kong Free Press · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Documents & data Outcome reported
  • Hong Kong authorities euthanized over 700 wild boars last year, contributing to a halving of the population since a capture-and-kill policy was reinstated in late 2021.
  • The policy replaced a sterilization program deemed ineffective against the boar's breeding rate.
  • While the culling has reduced nuisance reports and human injuries, animal welfare groups advocate for habitat management over hunting.

Hong Kong authorities euthanized more than 700 wild boars last year, a significant increase that has contributed to the wild boar population halving since the government reinstated a capture-and-kill program in late 2021. Official figures reveal a dramatic shift from previous sterilization efforts.

The government reverted to the capture-and-kill policy after the previous sterilization program, known as the Capture and Contraception/Relocation Programme (CCRP), ran from 2017 to 2021. During that period, 1,198 boars were captured, with 458 sterilized or vaccinated and 885 relocated. However, the CCRP was deemed "far from catching up" with the animals' breeding rate.

Wild pigs inhabit Hong Kong’s countryside widely. Because they may attack people when frightened, damage farmland and spread a range of zoonotic diseases, their management has long been a major task for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD)

— LegCo documentA Legislative Council document outlined the reasons for managing the wild boar population.

According to Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) figures, the estimated wild boar population has dropped from 2,000 in 2021 to 990 last year. The number of boars "humanely dispatched" rose from 64 in 2021 to 723 last year. The research office of the Legislative Council (LegCo) noted that this "expanded use of this lethal measure appears to have driven down the recent population of wild pigs."

The expanded use of this lethal measure appears to have driven down the recent population of wild pigs

— LegCo research officeThe LegCo research office commented on the impact of the lethal measure on the wild boar population.

Despite the reduction in boar numbers, some animal welfare groups advocate for alternative methods, such as preventive habitat management, including fences and buffer zones, rather than hunting operations. The decision to reinstate culling in 2021 faced criticism from 13 animal rights groups who called the policy "extremely unreasonable."

However, the policy appears to have yielded results in managing human-wildlife conflict. Nuisance reports fell by over a fifth from a 2021 peak to around 1,100 in subsequent years. Crucially, reports of human injuries from boar encounters plummeted from 36 to just four in 2025, reversing a steep rise seen between 2020 and 2022. The AFCD spent an average of HK$20.6 million annually over the past six years on boar management. Last year, nuisance reports were most frequent in Sai Kung, Tai Po, and Southern districts, areas typically bordering country parks.

extremely unreasonable

— Animal rights groupsAnimal rights groups criticized the reinstated capture-and-kill policy.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hong Kong Free Press in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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