China's viral wild boar hunters attract fame and concern

Hunters in China's Qinling mountains track wild boars, sparking debate on ecology, animal welfare, and farming challenges.

In the frigid night of China's Qinling mountains, hunters with huge social media followings scour the landscape in pursuit of wild boars menacing local farmers' livelihoods.

China's wild boars -- today numbering two million -- were a protected species from 2000 until 2023, but emerged from safeguarding last year with a hell-raising reputation for devastating crops.

Some local governments now offer boar bounties of up to 3,000 yuan ($410) to hunters like Li Shangxue and his comrades, who share their exploits with 340,000 followers on Douyin -- China's version of TikTok.

Their dispatches from the hunting trail fascinate a mostly male audience but also stir crucial questions about the ideals of ecology and animal welfare versus the harsh realities of farming.

"My family and friends are farmers," 26-year-old Li told AFP in Shaanxi province. "I've seen their fields trampled flat by wild boars overnight."

With spears, knives and over a dozen hunting dogs, Li's crew scurry across wild terrain as he oversees the pursuit with an infrared camera affixed to a drone.

The tension of the chase is broken by the feral screeching of a 50-kilogram (110-pound) swine cornered by the pack of dogs, before a hunter downs it with a spear.