It is a major ecological issue, and behind the "delisting" of wild boars, there are issues with the forest and grass bureau

The wild boar has been expelled!

Recently, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced the newly adjusted list of terrestrial wildlife with important ecological, scientific, and social value. Among them, wild boars were removed from the "Three Haves" list. Why has this attracted widespread attention from the people of mountainous areas in Zhejiang?

In recent years, some mountainous counties in Zhejiang Province have faced a headache problem: the rapid growth of wild boar populations and the increasingly fierce conflict between people's production and life. Spring sowing, summer destroying seedlings, autumn gnawing fruits, wild boars destroying fields and hurting people have become unbearable pain for some families.

The wild boar has been calling for the release of the "Three Haves" list for a long time. What changes will happen afterwards? Will the conflict between humans and pigs come to an end?

Behind the "pig infestation"

Wild boars were listed as "three protected animals" in 2000. In recent years, the number of wild boars has surged, which to some extent reflects the improvement of the ecological environment.

However, as a result, the problem of harm caused by wild boars has also emerged frequently.

There is data statistics: Currently, 28 out of 31 provinces in China have wild boar distribution, and 857 counties in 26 provinces have wild boar infestation. The mountainous areas of Zhejiang are also places where wild boars often roam.

The harm caused by wild boars makes farmers sigh at the sight of pigs.

"These days, I've been sleeping restlessly at night, afraid of wild boars coming." On the morning of July 4th, Zhang Huapei, the person in charge of Wuyi Ya Green Tea Factory, had already gone up the mountain to inspect the watermelon field. Zhang Huapei contracted a 3000 acre tea plantation in Xinzhai Town, Wuyi County, and planted over 10 acres of economic crops such as watermelon and sweet potatoes.

Last summer, a group of wild boars visited late at night and dug up a 15 acre watermelon field. Zhang Huapei estimated that the loss was over 100000 yuan. In mountainous areas, wild boars come out day and night, and two or three large wild boars and a few small wild boars enter the orchard to clean up. "They can destroy three or four acres of melon fields in one night," said Zhang Huapei. Wild boars not only spoil watermelons, but the seedlings they tread on are also basically harvested.

In the face of wild boars, Zhang Huapei is not the only one facing a great enemy. In 2022, the entire county of Wuyi received more than 250 reports of wild boar bites, trampling, and damaging crops, covering an area of more than 160 acres.

In recent years, when interviewing villagers in mountainous areas of the province, I have often heard them complain that there are too many wild boars, which seriously affects everyone's enthusiasm for planting.

In Suichang County, Lishui, incidents of wild boars entering villages and destroying crops such as rice and corn often occur. In 2021, Suichang statistics found that the total area of land damaged by wild boars in the county exceeded 4500 acres, resulting in an economic loss of about 4 million yuan. Kaihua County has received over 1000 reports from the public in the past three years regarding incidents involving wild animals, mainly wild boars.

In Fengwo Town, Pingyang County, Wenzhou, sweet and soft sweet potatoes are a local specialty. But in recent years, villagers have almost given up planting sweet potatoes on the mountains. "When the wild boar comes, the whole year is in vain." The village officials feel helpless, "hoping that the relevant departments can come up with a solution."

Wild boars have become a common problem in rural mountainous areas of Zhejiang Province. Many villagers propose to control the number of wild boars through hunting and killing. But previously, wild boars belonged to the "List of Terrestrial Wildlife of Important Ecological, Scientific, and Social Value", with stricter protection levels than ordinary wild animals, and unauthorized hunting and killing violated the Wildlife Protection Law.

The villagers can only fight against wild boars by driving them away. "The majority of those left behind in the village are elderly people, and they can't drive wild boars. They can only watch the fields suffer," said a village official in Fengwo Town, Pingyang County. "Everyone can only sigh at the pigs.".

It does not mean arbitrary hunting and killing

This time, the wild boar has been removed from the "Three Haves" list, which means that the wild boar species no longer poses a threat to survival in China. The population of wild boars in many regions of China is too high.

Zhejiang is a region where the problem of wild boar damage is more prominent. In 2021, Jiande, Wucheng, and Kaihua in Zhejiang Province became pilot counties for comprehensive prevention and control of wild boar hazards in China.

According to the "Technical Points for Prevention and Control of Wild Boar Hazards" issued by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration in 2021, the density control standard for wild boar population is: it is recommended to control the density according to the standard of 2 wild boars per square kilometer in southern hilly areas, and the specific hunting amount should be calculated based on the actual density.

According to the comprehensive wild boar background resource survey conducted by the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the average population density of wild boars in Kaihua County is 2.42 per square kilometer. In Chun'an County, adjacent to Kaihua, the population density of wild boars is higher, at 2.587 heads per square kilometer.

The excessive population density of wild boars is evident from the escalating conflicts between humans and pigs. Wild boars not only affect production, but also begin to invade people's daily lives, and incidents of wild boars injuring people occur from time to time.

Last year, a wild boar weighing 75 kilograms rushed into a villager's house in Lin'an District, Hangzhou, and bit an elderly person seriously. The villager called the police for help, and the police fired five shots to kill the wild boar. In Yuhang, 8 wild boars rushed into a villa community by the mountain, and a resident's hand and foot were bitten. Wild boars often roam on the Chun'an section of the Li Ning Expressway, and the traffic police department has to issue a safety warning.

The frequent intrusion of wild boars into people's lives from the mountains proves that the number of wild boars has exceeded the carrying capacity of their habitats.

It is reported that wild boars can breed a batch of small wild boars every 5 months, with about 10 offspring and a survival rate of about 95%. In Zhejiang, there are fewer top carnivorous animals such as wolves, tigers, and leopards in the wild. The strong reproductive ability of wild boars, coupled with the "Three Haves" list's "Death Free Gold Medal," has made their distribution area increasingly wide.

Chen Jiong, Director of the Institute of Animal Immunology and Disease Prevention and Control at Ningbo University, analyzed that from a provincial perspective, wild boars are basically in a state of no natural enemies in most areas. Allowing them to reproduce freely not only causes conflicts with human habitats, but in the long run, it will also damage the ecological environment. Therefore, the government should organize supplementary killing and control based on the number of wild boar populations.

After the removal of wild boars from the "Three Haves" list, subsequent wild boar hunting activities in various regions will be more convenient, which will help to control the wild boar population within a reasonable range. But it does not mean that wild boars can be hunted and killed at will. According to the relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Law, those who hunt terrestrial wildlife in protected areas, nature reserves, prohibited hunting areas, prohibited hunting periods, or use prohibited tools or methods, and damage the ecology, shall also bear corresponding legal responsibilities. The terrestrial wildlife here, including wild boars.

So, hunting wild boars is a planned ecological regulation behavior. Generally, wild boars are hunted and treated harmless instead of being consumed.

Ecological balance is a heavy responsibility and a long way to go

There are no jackals or wolves in the mountains, and wild boars are called kings.

With the decrease in the permanent population of some mountainous rural areas in the province, wild boars have begun to occupy the original production and living space of people, and their territory continues to expand; On the other hand, urban development and construction continue to extend outward, becoming increasingly close to the habitat of wild boars.

On the one hand, it is "people entering and pigs retreating", and on the other hand, it is "pigs entering and people retreating". The distinction between human habitats and wildlife habitats is no longer clear.

The frequent friction between humans and wild boars sends a signal that although the ecological environment in our province has improved, there is a problem of food chain deficiency, and biodiversity restoration is still a long-term problem.

From the current perspective, if wild boars are allowed to grow rapidly for a long time, it will not only affect the production and life of farmers, but also have negative effects on long-term biodiversity restoration measures such as ecological forest conservation.

In 2021, Zhejiang launched a comprehensive pilot program for the prevention and control of wild boar hazards. Based on the distribution and severity of wild boar resources, and in combination with the foundation of prevention and control work, Jiande, Wucheng, and Kaihua were selected as pilot counties, achieving certain results.

For example, Jiande City has established a wildlife protection emergency team with the goal of "population regulation, animal control, and agricultural protection", to build a defense system for farmers against wildlife damage to agriculture. Purchase commercial insurance for wildlife accidents in Wucheng District. Kaihua County implements the Public Liability Insurance Measures for Wildlife Accidents in Qianjiangyuan National Park.

This time, the official release of wild boars from the "Three Haves" list is generally beneficial for regulating the number of wild boars. The relevant person in charge of the Forestry Bureau of Kaihua County said that the application process for regulating the wild boar population is likely to be accelerated.

Previously, most of Kaihua was within the scope of national parks, with strict wildlife protection measures in place. Only when there are a few reasons such as scientific research needs and population regulation, can the application for hunting wild boars be made, and the process is strict. Generally, the application is submitted by the township, approved by the forestry department, and carried out by the emergency brigade. The specific implementation also requires the forestry department to independently review the information of the participants in the hunting plan, and after conducting on-site inspections layer by layer, the administrative permit can be obtained.

Although wild boars are no longer considered "three have" animals, indiscriminate hunting and consumption of wild boars is still illegal. Article 31 of the Wildlife Protection Law stipulates that it is prohibited to consume national key protected wildlife, terrestrial wildlife with important ecological, scientific, and social value protected by the state, as well as other terrestrial wildlife.

Wild boars are currently classified as other terrestrial wildlife by law and are prohibited from being hunted, transported, or sold for food purposes.

Greatly alleviating the pressure between ecological protection and public interests, the forestry department will focus on banning hunting and feeding on wild animals, and long-term restoration of the ecosystem.

Experts remind that the emergence of the problem of harm caused by wild boars indicates a lack of top carnivorous animals, indicating that there is still an imbalance in the ecological environment. Hunting and killing can reduce the harm caused by wild boars, but to solve the problem at the source, we need to start with restoring ecological balance and protecting biodiversity.

This is a long and arduous process.