(JP)Akita eyes non-lethal bear solution

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http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002012800199.html

 

Akita eyes non-lethal bear solution

 

The Asahi Shimbun

 

Akita Prefecture, which killed hundreds of bears last

year to prevent them from harming people, is now

considering letting the animals live and focusing

instead on preserving their habitat.

 

An unusually large number of Japanese black bears have

been reported over the past year in the prefecture's

residential areas. These include animals that have

injured 15 people and caused an estimated 30 million

yen in damage to farm crops, such as apples and

chestnuts.

 

The prefectural government responded to the problem by

shooting 407 bears-a record death toll, at five times

the yearly average.

 

Partly as a result of criticism from conservation

groups, however, the government has been rethinking

its policy of destroying problem bears.

 

The Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law, last revised

in 1999, leaves it up to prefectural governments to

determine how they will go about protecting wild

animal species.

 

The latest approach, proposed in a prefectural

government five-year plan, aims both to conserve the

bears' natural habitats and to break their dependency

on residential areas, where they scavenge for food.

 

The proposal also aims to help people understand how

their behavior can lead to problems involving bears.

 

Specific measures in the proposal include the

restoration of broadleaf forests that would provide

food for bears, and the introduction of a campaign to

persuade people not to leave leftover food and other

garbage in the mountainous areas where the bears live.

 

 

The plan also entails deliberations among various

prefectural government agencies on the implementation

of the measures.

 

The prefectural government hopes to have the plan

approved by its council for natural environment

conservation in March, which would allow it to come

into effect in April.

 

(01/28)

 

 

 

 

 

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