Leung Siu-fai says officials have “humanely handled” 28 animals since a policy was introduced last month that allows for problem boars to be put to sleep.
“We have captured and humanely handled boars in five out of more than sixty black spots,” he said after attending an event.
The “capture and kill” policy for wild boars has sparked an outcry, with animal activists calling on the government to reverse it and step up its neutering programme instead.
Yet Leung said the department would still continue its operations at black spots.
“We will continue our strategy to protect the public’s safety. That means we will continue to capture boars which appear regularly, are not afraid of people, and even pose a safety risk at black spots,” he said.
“We will also, if there are referral cases, reports of boars going to urban areas, and we assess that they pose a risk, we will also capture and remove them.”
He said efforts would also be made to dissuade people from feeding boars and to improve the design of bins.
