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Japan Decides to Relax Bear-Shooting Laws:
Japan has signaled its intention to modify the existing strict hunting laws due to a surge in troubling situations with bears. The Asian country has witnessed an alarming rate of wildlife encounters in populated areas due to an increase in the number of the bears and a decrease in their natural habitats.
Enhancing Local Control:
In the proposed amendment set to be effective from the coming year, Japan is granting local councils the authority to empower hunters to perform “emergency shootings” when there's an appearance of bears in populated communities. The move is strategic to simplify the process for licensed hunters to respond promptly to bear sightings as against the current tradition where only the police give permission for emergency shootings following concrete proof of threat to human life by the animals.
The Bear Issue in Japan:
It's becoming an issue of concern as northern Japan wrestles with an increasing concern of inhabitants of cities and towns seeing bears forced to forage food leaving their natural habitats. It's no surprise as the total number of severe bear-related situations, which included six fatalities, as reported in Japan in the year ending March was recorded as 219. Over the same time, 9,000 black and brown bears were trapped and done away with.
The Underlying Factors:
Experts have attributed this disturbing trend to a shortage of acorns and other bear food items, some even citing the impact of the climate crisis. The bears are also adventuring into newer territories due to rural depopulation leading to increasing abandoned lands. They are further encouraged by the shrinking age-old hunting community in Japan, who are bound by stringent gun laws and the resulting costs of ammo and rifle storage.
Figures on Hunting Licence:
Official data reveals that over 517,800 hunting licenses were granted in 1975, a figure that dropped by over half to 218,500 in 2020 with nearly 60% of the license holders already 60 years or more. Interestingly, 98% of these were meant for shooting but dropped to 42% in 2020 with the rest issued for trapping.
Conclusion:
Japan is taking a significant step by relaxing its bear-shooting laws due to an urgent necessity. The new legal amendment is intended to treat the rising bear-human face-offs as an emergency and restore regularity.
Japan has signaled its intention to modify the existing strict hunting laws due to a surge in troubling situations with bears. The Asian country has witnessed an alarming rate of wildlife encounters in populated areas due to an increase in the number of the bears and a decrease in their natural habitats.
Enhancing Local Control:
In the proposed amendment set to be effective from the coming year, Japan is granting local councils the authority to empower hunters to perform “emergency shootings” when there's an appearance of bears in populated communities. The move is strategic to simplify the process for licensed hunters to respond promptly to bear sightings as against the current tradition where only the police give permission for emergency shootings following concrete proof of threat to human life by the animals.
The Bear Issue in Japan:
It's becoming an issue of concern as northern Japan wrestles with an increasing concern of inhabitants of cities and towns seeing bears forced to forage food leaving their natural habitats. It's no surprise as the total number of severe bear-related situations, which included six fatalities, as reported in Japan in the year ending March was recorded as 219. Over the same time, 9,000 black and brown bears were trapped and done away with.
The Underlying Factors:
Experts have attributed this disturbing trend to a shortage of acorns and other bear food items, some even citing the impact of the climate crisis. The bears are also adventuring into newer territories due to rural depopulation leading to increasing abandoned lands. They are further encouraged by the shrinking age-old hunting community in Japan, who are bound by stringent gun laws and the resulting costs of ammo and rifle storage.
Figures on Hunting Licence:
Official data reveals that over 517,800 hunting licenses were granted in 1975, a figure that dropped by over half to 218,500 in 2020 with nearly 60% of the license holders already 60 years or more. Interestingly, 98% of these were meant for shooting but dropped to 42% in 2020 with the rest issued for trapping.
Conclusion:
Japan is taking a significant step by relaxing its bear-shooting laws due to an urgent necessity. The new legal amendment is intended to treat the rising bear-human face-offs as an emergency and restore regularity.
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