"If You Catch a Wild Boar Barehanded, You Get It for Free"... Absurd Tourist Product Introduced in China

Wild Boars, Rabbits, and Pheasants Caught Barehanded Are Free

A tourist attraction in China where you can catch a wild boar with your bare hands and take it home for free has become a hot topic, according to local media such as Zimu News.

This was introduced by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. Visitors who catch wild boars, rabbits, or pheasants in Guhuang Mountain can take them home for free. However, only those aged 16 to 64 are allowed to catch wild boars. Children aged 8 to 16 are only permitted to catch pheasants and rabbits. Hunting must be done with bare hands only; using sticks to chase animals away or throwing stones is illegal.

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While the attraction has gained significant attention, concerns have also been raised about potential harm to wildlife and the dangers of capturing wild boars. However, Guhuang Mountain officials responded that the wild boars are a hybrid breed raised without tusks (lower jaw canines), so there is no problem. Additionally, wild boars weighing less than 30 kg and mothers with piglets are excluded from hunting.

Xiaoming, who visited the site with his brothers during the National Day holiday and succeeded in hunting a wild boar, said that a staff member told him, "Only 12 wild boars have been caught this year, and the last one was caught in July."

Recently, China has been engaged in a war against the rapidly increasing wild boar population. Although wild boars were designated as protected wildlife in 2000, they were removed from the list last year due to the population surge. Hunting wild boars was prohibited, but as damage caused by wild boar appearances increased, some regions have temporarily allowed hunting. The Ningxia local government has announced a bounty of 2,400 yuan (approximately 450,000 Korean won) per wild boar and plans to capture about 300 animals. Authorities have stated that, in addition to hunting, they will implement population control measures based on scientific evidence.