Humanitarian destruction of wild boars in urban areas continues to be controversial. The Fisheries and Conservation Department believes that they pose a serious threat to human safety and must be dealt with decisively. Concern groups criticize the government's peaceful policy of "rewinding" and cutting humans and pigs to coexist.
A veterinarian who participated in the wild boar sterilization program of the Fisheries and Conservation Department said that due to time and manpower constraints, it is often impossible to sterilize all the wild boars caught.
He criticized that the humane destruction of wild boars entering the urban area is not considered a violation of the veterinary professional code, but it is not ethical. He said that the culling of wild boars should be the last resort.
Insufficient resources to catch 7 can only sterilize 2
According to the Department of Fisheries and Conservation, there are currently about 2500 wild boars in the rural areas of Hong Kong. The wild boar "catch, sterilize, and return" program has been tried for four years, and a total of about 450 wild boars have been neutered.
Veterinarian Xie Yuhui believes that at least half of wild boars are sterilized to be effective.
Based on his past experience of sterilizing wild boars, he moved from 6 pm to midnight to capture 6 or 7 wild boars at a time. However, due to time constraints, he could only perform operations on two of them, and the rest had no choice but to put them back.
He believes that if all the wild boars caught can be neutered and used for contraception, it is recommended that after the wild boars are caught at night, they should be temporarily stored in an animal management center and other places, and they should be neutered the next day before being released. The AFCD also needs to increase the number of veterinarians.
Promote law enforcement and educate citizens to ban feeding wild boars
He also criticized the AFCD for the humane destruction of wild boars entering the urban area as a "bottom policy." It should be the last resort. Although the practice is not a violation of veterinarians' professional codes, it is not ethical.
He believes that if the authorities have not done a good job in law enforcement and education to prohibit citizens from feeding wild boars, they should not be humanely destroyed.
Rebutting the remarks of the Fisheries and Conservation Department's Concern Group: It's not that the sterilization plan can't catch up with the reproductive rate
The Director of Fisheries and Conservation Department Liang Zhaohui said yesterday that the birth rate of wild boars can reach thousands or even tens of thousands a year, and the sterilization plan is far behind the reproduction speed of wild boars. Humanitarian measures".
Wong Ho-yin, a member of the Wild Boar Concern Group, pointed out that wild boars have a high mortality rate, 4-6 newborn wild boars, and only 1 to 2 survived. "It is a resource distribution problem, not that the plan cannot catch up with the reproduction rate." Land planning should also include animals. Consider, for example, providing animal flyovers or tunnels to improve animal treatment and allow pigs to coexist, rather than rationalizing slaughter.
▼The Fisheries and Conservation Department rounds up wild boars on Shum Wan Road▼
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Concerned about the approval of the government’s demonization of wild boars, in principle not to expand the no-feeding zone
Wong Ho-yin said that the AFCD still believes that the past wild boar measures have been effective in the middle of this year, but this month's attitude has changed 180 degrees.
Take the 2018 government education short film as an example. As long as wild boars are not harassed, they will not actively harass humans. However, the government has recently "demonized" them and cannot help but question that "the character of wild boars will not change over time...so much resources are invested to educate the public. Now teaching people to kill pigs is incredible."
He believes that the government should provide an adaptation period, put an end to human feeding first, and increase manpower and resources to deal with wild boar sterilization.
He also asked the government to continue to relocate wild boars entering the urban area. Even if they have a chance to return to their original areas due to food inducements, the government may consider planting wild boars that like succulent rhizomes, increasing food resources in country parks, and making wild boars willing to stay. Treating animals takes time in exchange for results."
He has no objection in principle to the authorities’ plan to expand the "no feeding zone," but he is worried that the volunteers who feed stray cats and dogs will fall into the law net by mistake. He urges the government to consult animal attention groups first.
Wild boars that broke into North Point’s residential houses were humanely destroyed. The Fisheries and Conservation Department studies to expand the scope of the “no-feeding zone”.
After the wild boar attacked the police, the killing started. Xiao Zeyi denied pressure to the Fisheries and Conservation Department in an attempt to discredit the police killing order | The Fisheries and Conservation Department disclosed that wild boars committed 42 wounding cases in 10 years and 6 people were to be operated on. The possibility of bone rehabilitation is extremely unlikely to require the AFCD to kill at least 9 wild boars
