Man denies mistreating his pet boar ‘Little Tommy’
Owner, 63, admits failing to report the wild pig bit a passer-by on same day
PUBLISHED : Monday, 14 April, 2014, 6:43pm
UPDATED : Monday, 14 April, 2014, 6:43pm
Samuel Chan [email protected]
Wild pig owner Shing Wing-biu said he has never used violence against the animal except occasional patting or lightly kicking it. Photo: Edward Wong
A man who says he kept a wild pig as a pet after finding it suffering from apparent dog bites pleaded not guilty today to mistreating the animal.
Shing Wing-biu denied cruelty to the boar he calls “Little Tommy” but pleaded guilty to failing to report an animal bite.
Shing, 63, was arrested in November after being seen allegedly walking the animal on a chain along the Sai Kung waterfront.
In Kwun Tong Court today he denied he had ever used violence against the animal except occasionally patting or lightly kicking it, which his lawyer argued did not amount to cruelty.
The boar has been in police custody under the management of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department since Shing’s arrest on November 17 last year. A spokeswoman for the department said Shing had not seen the pig since then.
The prosecution said that on the same day as the cruelty allegation, the pig bit a passer-by who later was found to have suffered only scratches. The victim did not pursue the issue after receiving an apology from Shing on the spot and police were not notified.
Principal Magistrate Ernest Lin Kam-hung adjourned the hearing on the cruelty charge to June 11. After this hearing the judgment on both cases will be delivered.
Animal rights activists from the Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group – which has been in touch with Shing on how to ensure the wild boar’s welfare – also attended court today.
The group, formed last November after its members were alarmed by a wild boar cull in Tai Wai by a government contractor, said the department should conduct a thorough medical examination as well as location studies if it planned to release the boar into the wild.
The group’s director Roni Wong said the boar should be released where it was found and the department should give a public explanation if it planned to release it anywhere else.
He said a tracking device should be put on the boar before it was released so that the government could gauge whether the release achieved the desired result.
