As Hong Kong accelerates urbanization, the habitats of wild animals have gradually diminished. With illegal feeding by citizens that alters the animals' natural fear of humans and fosters a dependency on handouts, wild animals intruding into residential areas and attacking people have become more frequent. Following the amendment of laws last year to combat illegal feeding, the SAR government has progressively introduced new technologies to assist in these efforts.
A Hong Kong Wen Wei Po journalist recently had a firsthand look at the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department (AFCD) trialing an artificial intelligence (AI) closed-circuit television (CCTV) system at the Piper's Hill parking lot. When the system detects someone feeding monkeys, it immediately alerts authorities, enabling law enforcement to swiftly arrive and arrest the offenders. After that, illegal feeding at the site has significantly improved, and the department plans to expand the surveillance system to the nearby Kowloon Reservoir parking lot in the third quarter.
Recently, accompanied by AFCD staff, the Wen Wei Po reporter ventured deep into the Kam Shan Country Park, a habitat for wild monkeys in Hong Kong. Along the way, many monkeys were seen freely roaming the paths, showing no fear of humans, and even approaching hikers in attempts to "raid" their food.
Feeding alters monkey behavior, leading to aggressive food snatching and injuries
Louisa Yip, AFCD's Fauna Conservation Officer (Operation), explained that in the past, some citizens took pleasure in feeding monkeys, leading to frequent human-monkey interactions that altered the animals' behavior. The monkeys lost their natural fear of humans, began congregating near residential areas, and even became aggressive, snatching food or plastic bags from people, sometimes even causing injuries.
To help wild animals regain their instincts, the government has recently prioritized cracking down on illegal feeding. Last year, the amended Wild Animals Protection Ordinance increased penalties and expanded the scope of the law. The AFCD, in collaboration with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and the Housing Department, established an inter-departmental task force on enforcement against illegal feeding. Through regular meetings, the task force reviews and optimizes enforcement strategies and implementation.
However, the biggest challenge in enforcement is the fleeting nature of illegal feeding; by the time officers arrive, the perpetrators may have already left, making evidence collection difficult. To address this, the AFCD has recently leveraged technology to enhance monitoring and enforcement. Early last year, it introduced an AI-powered CCTV system at the Piper's Hill parking lot in Kam Shan Country Park.
Yip explained that the system's key feature is its AI and real-time alert function, which effectively identifies interactions between humans and wild animals. "When the system detects a person and a monkey appearing in the frame for more than 10 seconds or observes actions suggestive of illegal feeding, it automatically triggers an alert, notifying nearby staff to intervene."
She noted that even if the feeder leaves before officers arrive, the CCTV footage can capture license plates or vehicle details to track down the individuals or vehicles involved. Since its implementation, the system has led to six successful prosecutions, with several more cases under investigation.
No predators & excessive feeding lead to doubling of local monkey population in only eight years
Yip pointed out that due to the lack of natural predators and past excessive feeding, the local monkey population once grew rapidly. Research shows that in the 1990s, the monkey population grew at an annual rate of 7% to 10%, doubling every 8 to 12 years. To address this, the AFCD launched a monkey contraception and sterilization program in 2007, contracting specialists to perform endoscopic sterilization on monkeys in Kam Shan, Lion Rock, and Shing Mun Country Parks. The annual target is around 100 to 120 monkeys, while monitoring population trends to control numbers in the long term.
To date, over 2,100 monkeys have undergone sterilization. The birth rate has dropped from about 60% in 2009 to around 32% in recent years, with the total population stabilizing at approximately 2,000 to 2,100 monkeys, proving the program's effectiveness.
However, since many areas in Hong Kong are close to monkey habitats, some monkeys may be attracted to residential areas by discarded food or fruit on trees, leading to nuisances such as climbing buildings, rummaging through trash, or snatching food from people. These incidents often occur in districts near monkey habitats or rural areas, particularly Sha Tin, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Sham Shui Po, and Tai Po. In recent years, monkey-related nuisance cases have remained at around 300 annually, dropping to about 200 during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely due to reduced public outings.
Yip emphasized that past excessive feeding caused an unnatural surge in the monkey population, disrupting ecological balance. The department is currently reviewing the local monkey situation and studying experiences from other regions to develop a more comprehensive and effective management action plan, aiming to better control the monkey population and reduce disturbances to the public.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; Journalist: Tsang; English Editor: Darius)
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