Wild boar put down after mauling flower market worker
A wild boar that mauled a flower market shopkeeper in Mong Kok on Saturday morning was put to sleep after a lengthy stand-off with police officers who attempted to keep it cornered in a store. Police cordoned off part of the flower market after the shopkeeper, in his forties, suffered hand and leg injuries. In a video provided by onlookers, around half a dozen officers were seen engaging in a fierce battle to corner the wild boar in a shop, using riot shields and batons.  Later, officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department arrived and anaesthetised the boar before taking it away. The department later said the boar was euthanised on public safety grounds. “Considering that the wild boar had attacked people, and [letting it] continue to roam in the urban area would pose a danger to the public, the personnel from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department decided to handle it humanely to ensure public safety,” it said in a statement. The injured shopkeeper was conscious when he was taken to Kwong Wah Hospital.  Police said the man was set upon by the 1.2 metre-long creature in Yuen Ngai Street not long after 9am.  It's not the first time in recent weeks that a boar has caused havoc in urban areas. Last month, five construction workers and a police officer were injured when a boar went on the rampage at a construction site in Stubbs Road. In August, two pedestrians were injured by a boar in Fo Tan. _____________________________
Last updated: 2023-10-21 HKT 15:53 