Deep Dive delves into hot issues in Hong Kong and mainland China. Our easy-to-read articles provide context to grasp what’s happening, while our questions help you craft informed responses. Check sample answers at the end of the page.
News: Hong Kong’s wild boars see large decline in population since 2021
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Human feeding and the city’s urban design have exacerbated wild boar-human conflicts
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Authorities have resorted to culling the animals to address urban encroachment
In Hong Kong, wild boars that once roamed the hills are now encroaching on areas of human habitation. Wildlife experts attribute this shift to habitat loss caused by urban expansion and to people feeding the animals illegally. These wild boar-human conflicts have led authorities to implement aggressive control measures, including culling.
The most recent data from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department showed that the wild boar population decreased from 2,000 in 2021 to 1,830 in 2022 and 1,360 in 2023. The number further plunged to 900 in 2024. More than 2,200 wild boars were culled between 2021 and 2025.
Hang Hau’s Sheung Yeung Village is on a hillside surrounded by greenery. There, wild boars root through rubbish bins in search of food.
Lau Kai-hong, chairman of the Hang Hau Rural Committee and the village’s resident representative, said the animals were spotted searching bins about 20 times a month on average.
“Because the areas next to the rubbish stations are quite dark, some residents or domestic helpers who are scared of boars will place the waste next to the station but not inside the rubbish bins, causing boars to find food waste,” he said.
Larger boars could knock over bins, he said, adding that they also ate crops planted by residents.
But most boars were afraid of people and would retreat into the woods, he noted.
“Normally, boars don’t attack people, but some boars are not scared and continue munching [on] food waste even when a car flashes their headlights at them,” he said.
Gary Ades is the head of the fauna conservation department at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden. He noted that one reason for the recent increase in sightings was the difficulty boars faced in finding food during winter, which led them to wander into urban areas in search of it.
He said that because city planning does not account for wildlife, boars can get trapped in urban centres when they leave the forests.
For example, boars often get their heads stuck in railings because the design only considers humans, not boars.
Ades added that boars mainly defended themselves during encounters with people, which could be triggered by people getting too close to young ones or by blocking their escape.
Staff writers
Question prompts
1. Which of the following statements is false, according to the information in News?
(1) The number of wild boars is declining in Hong Kong.
(2) Wild boar sightings in Hang Hau’s Sheung Yeung Village occur about 20 times each year.
(3) Wild boars typically attack people when they are frightened by a car’s flashing headlights.
(4) It is more difficult for boars to find food during the winter, which leads them to search in urban areas.
A. (1), (2) only
B. (1), (4) only
C. (2), (3) only
D. (3), (4) only
2. According to Lau, what TWO actions by residents attract wild boars into the neighbourhood?
3. How does the city’s unfriendly urban design towards animals exacerbate wild boar sightings and nuisance problems? Explain using News and your own knowledge.
Illustration
Question prompts
1. What is being shown in the illustration, and how does it relate to the information in News?
2. Why might wild boars be tempted to wander into urban areas? Explain using the information in News and your own knowledge.
Issue: To cull or not to cull?
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Hong Kong has allowed the humane culling of problematic boars since 2021
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Wildlife experts have raised concerns about the current culling policy and urged a review of the measures
For years, Hong Kong had favoured human coexistence with wild boars. Then, in 2017, authorities suspended civilian hunting and transitioned to a strategy of capture, contraception and relocation, opting to move and sterilise the animals instead of culling them.
But authorities later found sterilisation lagged far behind the boars’ high breeding rate, and relocated boars often returned to urban areas for food.
In November 2021, the government shifted to a capture-and-dispatch policy that humanely culls problem boars.
Official statistics showed that 2,219 wild boars were culled between 2021 and 2025. Last year, 719 were put down. Authorities also recorded 1,130 reports of wild boar sightings or nuisance last year, down from 1,417 in 2021.
As boar numbers continue to decline, wildlife experts have called for a balance between public safety, animal welfare and ecological integrity.
“We have to make sure that we don’t reduce the population to a size which is then not sustainable because these are our native animals and they do have a benefit in our forests,” said Gary Ades, of the fauna conservation department at Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden.
He stressed the need for a scientific study to prevent an unsustainable reduction in numbers.
Brian Wong Shiu-hung, a researcher at the Liber Research Community, an NGO focusing on development issues, noted that more people were questioning the need to cull boars amid recent incidents.
He argued that in other places, culling was typically used as a last resort and limited to situations posing an immediate threat to people.
“When the policy reaches a point where the animals no longer pose a severe threat to humans, shouldn’t there be a bit more flexibility or a more relaxed approach?” he said.
Some experts suggested stricter enforcement of no-feeding rules as a way to address one of the causes of the problem. The government amended the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance twice – in December 2022 and May 2024 – expanding the feeding ban area of wild animals from monkey habitats to the whole of Hong Kong to combat people feeding boars and feral pigeons.
Authorities introduced a fixed penalty of HK$5,000 for illegal feeding, while the maximum penalty for the offence in serious cases, such as repeated violations, was increased to HK$100,000 and imprisonment for one year.
Experts also urged the city to learn from mainland China and Singapore by designing wildlife-friendly infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels, allowing wild boars to cross safely without running into people.
Other measures included installing fences around forests to prevent wild boars from entering residential areas, ensuring the designs do not trap them, and adopting rubbish bins across the city that were resistant to being pushed over by the animals.
Staff writers
Question prompts
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What prompted the Hong Kong government to change its policy regarding wild boars in 2021?
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Explain TWO reasons that experts question the need to continue culling problem boars.
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Do you think the current measures for managing wild boars are effective? What problems could arise? Explain using News, Issue, Glossary and your own knowledge.
Graph
Question prompts
1. Using the graph, describe the trend of wild boar sightings or nuisance reports in the past few years. Explain why it is happening using information from Issue.
2. What other measures could help mitigate wild boar sightings or nuisance in the city? Explain using Issue, Glossary and your own knowledge.
Glossary
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urban expansion: creating new homes, offices and other buildings in previously undeveloped natural landscapes
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wild boar-human conflicts: the direct, often negative interactions that occur when the boundaries between wildlife territory and urban living spaces collapse
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culling: to reduce or control the size of a population. In this case, it describes the deliberate, government-sanctioned killing of wild boars to reduce their population density and minimise the risks they pose to the public.
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contraception: the use of medical intervention to prevent reproduction
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sterilisation: the process of making a human or animal permanently unable to produce offspring, usually through a medical procedure
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humanely: done with compassion, kindness and sympathy to minimise pain or suffering
Sample answers
News
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C
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When residents place waste beside the station instead of in the rubbish bins, it attracts wild boars searching for food. They might also plant crops that attract boars.
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The city’s unfriendly urban design worsens wild boar sightings and nuisance problems in several ways. First, physical barriers are poorly designed for wildlife movement. As mentioned in News, railings in Hong Kong are designed keeping only humans in mind, which can cause wild boars to get stuck when trying to pass through. When boars cannot return to forests freely, they become trapped in urban areas, increasing the likelihood of encounters with people. Second, wild boars experience habitat loss due to urban expansion, which reduces their habitats and pushes them closer to human settlements. When forests are reduced or disturbed, boars are forced to adapt by entering cities to survive. Specifically, they must navigate roads, estates and other infrastructure to find food or shelter. Third, the city’s spatial design can worsen conflicts between wild boars and humans. For example, dimly lit rubbish stations lead residents to leave trash outside bins, indirectly attracting boars. Over time, these conditions lead them to associate urban areas with food, encouraging repeated visits and reducing their natural fear of humans. Overall, the city’s design not only fails to accommodate wildlife but also attracts wild boars into urban areas and traps them there, leading to more frequent sightings and nuisance problems.
Illustration
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The illustration serves as a visual metaphor for the encroachment and conflict described in the news report. The image is split into two distinct zones. The top shows a human silhouette against a backdrop of recognisable Hong Kong landmarks, representing urban expansion. Below the city line, a wild boar is depicted walking over a question mark. This relates directly to the text’s mention of the “wild boar-human conflicts” and the uncertainty regarding their management. The boar’s shadow, forming a question mark, reflects the uncertain nature of these encounters, such as residents being scared to approach rubbish stations at night. (accept all reasonable answers)
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Boars are increasingly drawn to urban areas due to several factors, with one significant reason being the reduction of their natural habitats caused by urban expansion. Human intervention, particularly through illegal feeding, encourages these animals to associate people with food, which decreases their natural fear of humans. They are also attracted to “food waste” found in rubbish bins. For instance, in places like Sheung Yeung Village, discarded waste left outside bins offers an easy meal for them.
Issue
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The government changed its policy towards wild boars in 2021 because it found that sterilisation measures lagged far behind the boars’ high breeding rate, and relocated boars often returned to urban areas in search of food.
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Experts question the need to continue culling all problem boars, as culling is usually used as a last resort in other countries and is limited to situations posing an immediate threat to people. In contrast, many boars in the city do not pose significant threats to residents. The city’s population of boars has also been decreasing. (any two)
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I think the current measures are ineffective for managing wild boars in the long term. Although the shift to a culling policy has significantly reduced the boar population and the number of nuisance reports, it does not address root causes such as food availability and habitat loss. Several potential problems may arise from this policy. First, over-culling may reduce the population to an unsustainable level, harming biodiversity. Wild boars play a vital role in their ecosystem by breaking up dense vegetation and exposing bare soil, which allows pioneer plant species to thrive. They also contribute to soil aeration and aid in seed dispersal. Culling them may disrupt the ecosystem and cause ecological imbalance. Second, ethical concerns may arise, as the policy involves killing animals unnecessarily, especially given that the main driver is to increase public opposition and resident nuisance complaints. Third, the policy does not prevent human feeding or improve waste management. If these issues are not addressed, boars will continue to be attracted to urban areas in search of food. In conclusion, without addressing human behaviour and urban design, the current policy cannot provide a comprehensive long-term solution. (accept all reasonable answers)
Graph
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The graph shows a significant overall decline in the number of wild boar sightings or nuisance reports since 2021. The number dropped sharply from a peak of 1,417 in 2021 to 1,133 in 2022. It then remained relatively stable from 2022 to 2025, ranging between 1,098 and 1,130. This trend may be due to the government replacing its capture, sterilisation and relocation program with a capture and dispatch policy in November 2021. This policy involves the humane culling of problem boars.
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There are several other effective measures to mitigate wild boar sightings or nuisance in the city. First, strict enforcement of no-feeding laws can reduce the likelihood of attracting wild boars to urban areas in search of food. Second, wildlife-friendly infrastructure, such as bridges or tunnels, can allow wild boars to move between habitats without entering urban areas, thereby reducing human-boar conflicts. Third, improved waste management – such as using animal-proof rubbish bins that cannot be knocked over – can prevent boars from accessing food in urban areas. Fourth, carefully designed fences along forest edges can prevent animals from entering residential areas without trapping them. Overall, these approaches can target the root causes and are comparatively more sustainable than relying mainly on culling.
