Hong Kong – AFCD concerned about injury case caused by wild pig

AFCD concerned about injury case caused by wild pig

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     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) is very concerned about an incident today (October 21) where a wild pig injured a member of the public in Mong Kok Flower Market. 

     The AFCD received a referral from the Police this morning regarding a wild pig found in Mong Kok Flower Market. The Department immediately sent a dedicated team to the scene to follow up and found a wild pig upon arrival. During the incident, the wild pig dashed into a flower shop on Yuen Ngai Street and injured a member of the public. An AFCD veterinarian anesthetised the wild pig with a tranquiliser gun and captured it. 

     The concerned wild pig is an adult female weighing about 55 kilograms with a body length of about 1.2 metre. Considering that the wild pig had attacked members of the public and its continual presence in urban areas would pose a danger to the public, the AFCD officers dispatched it humanely to safeguard public safety.

     To safeguard public safety and maintain public hygiene, the AFCD implemented new measures in November 2021 to capture the wild pigs for humane dispatch at sites with presence of large numbers of wild pigs, with cases of wild pigs injuring citizens, or with wild pigs posing risks to members of the public. Furthermore, the AFCD also conducts operations to capture the wild pigs upon receiving wild pig sighting reports in urban areas or near residential areas from the public or other government departments. During the operations, the AFCD officers use dart guns with anaesthetics to capture the wild pigs, and perform humane dispatch on them through medicine injection.

     An AFCD spokesman said, “Since the implementation of the new measures, a total of over 670 wild pigs have been humanely dispatched, with the number of wild pig nuisance blackspots decreased from 63 in 2021 to 28 as of today. There has also been a downward trend in the number of public reports of wild pig sightings or nuisances received by the AFCD, from over 1 400 cases in 2021 to about 1 100 cases in 2022. The number of cases this year as of September 2023 was about 770. Furthermore, the number of injury cases caused by wild pigs has decreased from 20 cases in 2021 and 36 cases in 2022, to eight cases in 2023 as of today.”

     The spokesman further said, “The AFCD is very concerned about the incident of a wild pig injuring a citizen. The department expresses sympathies to the injured and hopes that he will recover soon.”

     He reminded the public to stay calm upon encountering wild pigs, refrain from approaching and disturbing them, and do not throw any objects at them or drive them away so as not to provoke the wild pigs and cause danger. If necessary, the public may hide behind obstacles and wait for the wild pigs to leave before proceeding. If wild pigs pose an immediate threat to personal safety, please call 999 immediately for help.

     The spokesman pointed out that the amended Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170) has extended the feeding ban area for wild animals to the entire territory of Hong Kong. Anyone who illegally feeds wild animals (including wild pigs) shall be liable to a fine of $10,000 upon conviction. The Government hopes to be able to introduce an amendment bill into the Legislative Council within this year for further amendments to the Ordinance, with a view to regulating activities of feeding feral pigeons, increasing the maximum penalty for illegal feeding, and introducing a fixed penalty.

     The spokesman reiterated that the AFCD will continue to implement wild pig capture and dispatch operations to reduce wild pig nuisances, and strengthen law enforcement on wild pig feeding activities to reduce the incentives that attract wild pigs to appear in urban areas or near residential areas. He appealed to the public not to feed wild animals so as not to change their natural habits and disrupt the ecological balance, and cause problems such as environmental hygiene and nuisances.

Brain Injury Association of Virginia to Honor Award Winners at Legacy Celebration

RICHMOND, Va.June 3, 2022PRLogRichmond, VA: The Brain Injury Association of Virginia will hold its Annual Legacy Celebration June 25th at 6:00 pm at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, to honor advocates and trailblazers changing lives of people in the brain injury community.

This year’s Legacy Celebration will feature a cocktail hour, an inspirational message delivered by Marilee Teshima, a member of BIAV’s Speaker’s Bureau, and an awards ceremony recognizing individuals who have shown leadership in the brain injury community. This year’s Award Winners are:

Legislator of the Year – Senator Emmett Hanger, Jr.: The Legislator of the Year Award is given to a member of Virginia’s General Assembly who has led efforts to improve the statewide system of care for those whose lives have been impacted by brain injury, Senator Hanger has exhibited legislative leadership for people with brain injuries, championed the advancement of our policy agenda and legislative priorities, and worked closely with brain injury advocates to introduce or support legislation or amendments that advance our legislative goals.

Weinstock Award – Lauren Smith, OTR/L, CBIS: The Weinstock Award recognizes people who demonstrate a commitment to people with brain injury and promote awareness of their needs. This year’s award is presented to Lauren Smith, who has been a part of BIAV’s Camp Bruce McCoy for the last 22 years. She is a leader in the OT field as a clinical educator, a passionate advocate for survivors of brain injury, and a dedicated clinician who enjoys educating professionals, colleagues, and anyone who is willing to listen about brain injury prevention and the need for supportive, community based living after someone sustains a brain injury.

Legacy Award – Dr. Jeffrey Barth: The Legacy Award recognizes significant, long-term contributions of lasting impact to the field of brain injury. Dr. Barth is the Founder of the UVA Brain Injury and Sports Concussion Institute, and is best known for his pioneering work on mild traumatic brain injury and sports concussion, and the Sports as a Laboratory Assessment Model (SLAM) for brief baseline and post-injury neurocognitive evaluation of athletes. He was also Senior Scientist for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center in Charlottesville.

Member of the Year Award – Karen Grazionale: The Member of the Year Award recognizes a BIAV member who has demonstrated continued interest in and support of Virginia’s brain injury community through contribution of time, skills or resources to the mission of BIAV. Karen Grazionale retired after 30 years as a change management professional for a major insurance company.  She currently cares for her husband who was hit by a car in 2016.

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Founded in 1983 by families and concerned professionals, the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV) is the only statewide non-profit organization in Virginia exclusively dedicated to serving individuals with brain injury, their families and those that care for and about them.  Over 10,000 people find help from BIAV each year. Our primary programs are: Information and Referral helpline, outreach and family support, education and training, public awareness, advocacy, and Camp Bruce McCoy. Visit https://www.biav.net to learn more.

Personal Injury Attorney Richard M. Kenny has been selected among America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators for 2021


Recently, Attorney Richard M. Kenny of the Law Office of Richard M. Kenny has been selected among America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators® for 2021.

For an attorney to be considered for this award, he or she must have litigated a legal matter with at least $2,000,000 in alleged damages at stake. From here, any attorney who is selected for this award will undergo Qualitative Comparative Analysis, wherein the organization will evaluate many facets of an attorney’s qualifications and practice, including his/her experience, notable case results on behalf of their clients, reputation amongst their peers, impact on their community, and more.

Each year, America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators® only selects the top 100 qualifying attorneys in each state for this high honor, meaning that less than 1% of attorneys in the United States receive such an award—and far less in the state of New York.

Attorney Kenny began his work as a civil plaintiff attorney over 30 years ago, and since then, he has delivered over 150 verdicts. Due to his staunch dedication to assisting accident victims throughout New York City, he has won several awards over the course of his career, including being named as one of the Best Attorneys in America by his peers from 2013 to the present.

Among the accident victims that Attorney Kenny has successfully represented is a construction worker who lost his leg during a highway construction job as a result of having his leg pinned between two concrete pylons. In most construction accidents, construction workers will simply file workers’ compensation claims, however, Attorney Kenny realized that the damages far exceeded any compensation that could be recovered in such a claim, and as a result, he initiated a lawsuit under a novel theory of law that had not been attempted before. In the end, they recovered a $6.2 million settlement on behalf of their client.

In another construction accident case, the Law Office of Richard M. Kenny recovered $4.35 million in compensation for an accident victim who developed brain damage after falling from a scaffold due to no fault of his own. In that trial, Attorney Kenny proved that the accident victim was not given the necessary safety equipment to do his job, and as a result, he fell from the scaffold and sustained permanent brain damage.

Attorney Kenny is also a frequent contributor to the community. After the 9/11 tragedy struck, he worked as a 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund Volunteer. Additionally, after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast, Attorney Kenny worked as a Sandy Relief Effort Legal Volunteer. The Law Office of Richard M. Kenny has also recovered $25 million for first responders who suffered injuries while responding to the 9/11 catastrophe.

The Law Office of Richard M. Kenny has helped victims of malpractice, negligence, and wrongful death in New York City since 2002, and if you have been wrongfully injured, they are ready to assist you as well. Contact our New York City personal injury attorney online or call him at (212) 421-0300.