Call for review over how Hong Kong manages wild boars and buffaloes

2026.03.19 00:50 A wild boar is seen at Fei Ngo Shan Road. The number of wild pigs fell from about 1,830 in 2022 to around 900 in 2024. Photo: Sam Tsang Animal rights groups have urged Hong Kong authorities to review their culling strategy for wild boars and to install animal bridges and other measures to reduce human-wildlife conflict in urban areas after incidents involving wild boars and a buffalo. They warned that as urban expansion, particularly the Northern Metropolis project, cleared large tracts of land and further eroded wildlife habitat, poor city planning would worsen the situation, endangering more animals. On Tuesday, authorities euthanised eight wild boars – two adults and six juveniles – after they wandered into a residential area near Chuk Yuen North Estate in Wong Tai Sin. The next day, a buffalo was struck by a vehicle on a highway in Yuen Long, disrupting traffic for hours, and was later euthanised. The death of the boars reignited debate over the government’s culling policy adopted in 2021 to replace the previous “capture, contraception and relocation” strategy. The accident involving the buffalo also highlighted the absence of road infrastructure to prevent wildlife from safely crossing busy roads in rural areas. The Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group condemned the culling of the eight pigs as “brutal”. “At that time, the wild boars had no malice. Elderly people were chatting nearby, everyone was minding their own business, with no threat to residents’ lives or property,” the group’s Roni Wong Ho-yin said. “The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department [AFCD] staff first threw bread on the ground to lure them, targeted the piglets first, then rounded up the adults … I think exploiting the animals’ trust to capture and humanely dispatch them is despicable and brutal behaviour.” A buffalo was struck by a vehicle on a highway in Yuen Long on Wednesday and later put down. Photo: Handout Wong argued that the sedated boars could have been driv

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