Seoul City "This Year Wild Boar Safety Measures Reduce 119 Emergency Dispatches by 22% in One Year"

Over 3 Years, 1,730 Wild Boar Safety-Related 119 Dispatches, Declining Annually Since 2019

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] This year, the number of 119 emergency dispatches for wild boar safety measures has decreased by 22% compared to last year.

According to the Seoul Fire & Disaster Headquarters on the 17th, a total of 1,730 wild boar safety dispatches were recorded over the past three years. Among these, 626 dispatches occurred between October, when the breeding season begins, and December, when winter sets in, accounting for 36.2% of all dispatches.

The number of dispatches by year was 740 in 2019, 576 in 2020, and 414 as of November this year. The number of dispatches this year is 22.0% lower than last year. In particular, the number of dispatches in November this year was 18, a decrease of 43 (70.5%) compared to 61 in November last year. This is interpreted to be related to wild boar captures following the African Swine Fever outbreak in 2019.

By location, mountainous areas, the main habitat of wild boars, accounted for 856 cases, nearly half of the total. There are also many cases of wild boars appearing in apartments, residential areas, and parks adjacent to the mountains, requiring careful attention from residents.

By region, Eunpyeong-gu had the highest number with 306 cases (17.7%), followed by Gangbuk-gu with 271 cases, Nowon-gu with 237 cases, and Dobong-gu with 208 cases.

Meanwhile, when the Fire & Disaster Headquarters receives reports of wild boar appearances, the 119 rescue team is dispatched to implement safety measures for citizen safety, and if necessary, they respond jointly with the wild boar safety measure teams operated by autonomous districts and the police.

Seo Soon-tak, Head of Disaster Response at the Seoul Fire & Disaster Headquarters, said, “Please familiarize yourself with safety rules in case you encounter wild boars during hiking or walking,” and added, “Seoul Fire will do its utmost to ensure citizen safety through prompt dispatch.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.