Finally, the wild boar has been officially removed from China's list of valuable wild animals.

In late June, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced the modified list of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Ecological, Scientific and Social Values, to which more than 700 new species of wildlife have been added.

More wildlife is under China's national protection now; is the wild boar an exception?

Protection and conflicts

The wild boar was first put on the list of Terrestrial Wildlife with Important Ecological, Scientific and Social Values in 2000, when the population of the species showed a sharp decline due to habitat loss and human interference. At that time, the wild boar even became extinct in some areas.

Over years of environmental protection and anti-poaching efforts, wild boars have gained better habitats and safer homes in China. The number of the species showed a recovery, and humans were happy to see the result.

Wild boars can breed once or twice a year, and a female can give birth to three to 12 piglets per litter. When an ecosystem lacks predators, the strong fertility of the wild boars overflows.

Ravaging crops, damaging farmlands, or even attacking humans, conflicts between humans and wild boars have risen.

-Wild boars ravaging Sichuan Province crops

-Protect or hunt? When wild boars come down the hill

What is the status of wild boar and its predators?

For now, the population of the species is not threatened, and it is expanding rapidly in many regions.

Wild boars have been found in 28 of the 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland. Among them, more than 850 county-level areas in 26 regions have suffered damage from wild animals.

The populations of predators of wild boars, such as tigers, leopards and jackals, have not recovered.

The South China tiger is the only tiger subspecies native to China. Since the 1990s, it has been listed as critically endangered and has disappeared in the wild.

As for the wild Siberian tigers, with years of natural forest protection and the establishment of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, the population of wild Siberian tigers in China has reached over 60 in 2022.

Unlike most herbivores and omnivores, the population recovery of the top predators on the food chain is much harder and slower. Without a healthy ecosystem, the outbreak of certain species will eventually break the balance.

-Why do 'overflowing' wild boars need to be protected?

Will wild boars be killed freely now?

"Delisting wild boar will facilitate hunting or other prevention and control measures suited to local conditions and enable more flexible and effective solutions to the damages caused by wild boars," said Jin Kun, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Forestry. "In areas where wild boars are not that destructive, or where (they and) their natural predators such as tigers, leopards, and jackals are roughly in balance, wild boars can still be put under provincial-level key protection to continue to play their ecological functions."

According to the expert, even though it is removed from the list, protection for the species should remain in force. Hunting operations have to be conducted in permitted areas, during permitted periods and with permitted tools and methods.

"The forestry and grassland authorities will continue to strengthen monitoring and early warning of wild boars and their habitats. Once a dramatic decline in its population is detected, we will consider raising its protection level again to avoid the species from being endangered due to over-hunting," said Jin.

(Cover image via CFP.)

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