Hong Kong declares wild boars fair game after animal attacks

By ZEN SOO
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities have had enough of wild boars. An increasing number of attacks by the animals including one that bit a police officer last week have triggered an operation in a district less than half an hour’s drive from Hong Kong’s financial center. Experts used dart guns to capture seven wild boars, which were later put down via medicine injections. Wild boars are a common sight in Hong Kong along hiking trails. They are often fed by people despite appeals by authorities not to do so as they could transmit diseases and may gather in large numbers. Hong Kong’s agriculture department says previous attempts to relocate and sterilize the boars could not effectively control the wild pig nuisance. Animal rights groups are protesting.