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Municipalities hold workshops to drum up interest in hunting

35 Comments
By Ikuto Kanbe

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I go hunting two three times a year, fill the freezer with meat. Spend days in the wild quietly watching nature, it's very relaxing. I'm not storming through the brush firing wildly left and right, The alternative is going to the noisy supermarket weekly queuing to pay for a small try of meat. That never roamed freely and received a bolt to the back of the head in terrifying circumstances. I respect nature and am thankful for my food, I work for it not always successful but respectful.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

I guarantee that most of the people moaning on here about hunting eat meat themselves, killed by someone else. Meat which spent its whole life confined and fed all sorts of weird stuff to fatten it up. I feel much better about tracking, shooting, skinning, butchering and eating a wild deer than eating any supermarket purchased meat. The hypocrisy of the anti-hunting crowd is staggering.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I'm not a hunter not do I condone hunting of endangered species or trophyhunting, but when it comes to species overcrowding and in turn destroying the ecosystem what is a better solution than hunting? It's sad but sometimes it's necessary. I'd love to hear alternatives.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

Hunting deer and boar (and varmints like moles) would reduce damage to crops - but bear and duck? Bad example.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Guns. Ugh.

Guns, are a more humane way of killing wildlife, be it for meat, pest control or sport.

While I oppose trophy hunting, sustenance hunting is more humane, sustainable, and environmental than mass farming.

Would you prefer hunters use pitfall traps, snares, spears and bows?

4 ( +8 / -4 )

@borscht,

I was referring to the bolt guns used at slaughter houses, appropriately named. Look I'm not a mass slaughter type. That's what the voices in my head tell me. But as you bought it up I have bow hunted but it can turn ugly quickly, so a firearm is, well purpose built, if I fire more than 2 shots I've failed and its sit by the fire time. I'm in their environment it's not easy but you get to see so much nature, watching wild animals interact is mesmerising for me. I kill what I can carry that's all.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Tough... defenceless.? It's their turf. So it takes a tough man to go to the supermarket? Choose a tray of meat? Try spending days quietly walking in a foreign environment looking for that one chance to feed your family, bit dramatic I know. But really "tough" having the skills, really the animals killed are either deaf or have no sence of smell. It's their world not ours so after thousands of years the concept of convienence negates any Barbaric" concept of get your own food?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

kawabegawa198Today 12:00 pm JSTI

guarantee that most of the people moaning on here about hunting eat meat themselves, killed by someone else. Meat which spent its whole life confined and fed all sorts of weird stuff to fatten it up. I feel much better about tracking, shooting, skinning, butchering and eating a wild deer than eating any supermarket purchased meat. The hypocrisy of the anti-hunting crowd is staggering.

Well said, people seem to think that killing things for food is somehow wrong, yet its the only way any organisim survives. if you eat vegetable chances are you killed a plant, plants may not be sentient to the same degree as animals but they are still living things.

Also why do people have issues with hunting but not fishing? probably because fish are not cute and cannot scream like a deer or pig.

if you saw half the conditions that the modern food manufacturing machine has for raising animals you probably would not buy meat from a supermarket again.

Trophy hunting if your not eating the animal or using the skin etc is stupid in my opinion so is hunting endangered animals, but hunting in a sustainable fashion is fine.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

There are, on average zero to two accidental shootings in Japan every year.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Japan no longer has wolves to manage the deer population, so in some areas it has become highly problematic, for both agriculture and forestry. Encouraging hunters makes more sense than having the local government pay for fences or for culling. Some local authorities already pay a reward per deer kill. It's that or pay the farmers every year for their losses.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I really miss the yearly deer hunting season back home! Sadly it's too far away for me to participate!

1 ( +9 / -8 )

Damn, I love venison and boar.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

I stopped hunting when other hunters fired at my group. First time I thought it was a fluke. The third time bullets whizzed over my head, I thought, nope. Not going to get killed looking for dinner.

If more hunters show up, chances are they're going to stay close to the car park. More hunters in a smaller space. Hunters killing hunters is already happening in some of these smaller towns.

Cricky,

A bolt to the back of the head. Are you talking bow hunting? Is the bolt to the head more or less humane than a bullet to the head? I mean, to the animal, not the eater.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Aly that's the point.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Still think humans Vs animals fghting over plant life(1 on 1) my bet is on the animal.

Of course technology favours the human take that away and ...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Hunting may not be the best way, but surely wildlife have to be controlled somehow.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

How many people are killed accidentally by Japanese hunters? I don't think it's very many. There are strict rules on gun ownership that stipulate that the weapon and bullets are locked up in separate locations that the authorities check before giving you the licence. I also heard that you have to join the "ryoryukai" or whatever that hard to pronounce word for the hunting association is. I've heard stories about people shooting (protected) kamoshika that were passed off as "bears", and some idiot shot an (all but extinct in Japan) oriental stork earlier this year, but I've not heard of many Dick Cheney/Greg Lemond type accidents with hunters shooting each other.

The strict rules on gun ownership are one of the reasons there are fewer hunters. The government is not going to just let anyone have a gun to deal with the deer or inoshishi problem. If anyone is interested, I would warn you that the typical hunting association will come with all the mendo kusai stuff you get with any Japanese organization in inaka, quite possibly more given the licencing requirements. If there are bear attacks in your town, you may be roped in to track it or for volunteer patrols.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

This is the perfect example of why it should not be extended. Do you really want some 20 year old office boy wandering around the forest with a rifle shooting at anything that moves with his 'kowaii' girlfriend watching on while she's doing her nails? Seriously? He'll be lucky if he doesn't kill himself or his girlfriend way before he sees any wildlife.

Do you really believe all Japanese youth are the shallow smartphone zombie instagrammers you see at Daikanyama Avenue?

Some are smarter, more nature conscious, and level headed than you or I will ever be.

The 6 month (at least)process, stringent regulations, background checks and mandatory classes, multiple trips to the police station and city hall are enough to repel any "fad hunters."

1 ( +1 / -0 )

". . . after sampling grilled meat from brown bear and duck killed locally."

Nothing quite so damaging to truck gardens than what can be done by bear and duck.

Sheesh.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

We all suffer the cost of cleaning up the messes of dairy and hog farmers in particular. As the saying goes, meat is cheap and cheap to produce in large factories because farmers don't pay for cleaning up the water supply and they don't pay for the asthma neighbors get, they don't pay for polluting downstream water that used to be drinkable and they don't pay for the loss of property values...etc etc

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Damn, I love venison and boar.

Agreed! The 2 best meats I have EVER tasted! Venison can replace beef. Boar can replace pork. I would love to go hunting and fill my fridge with mostly venison. Can save alot of money too. Beef is so expensive here. If I get a chance I really do want to join. I'd love to hunt and eat venison. But NO culling or killing for sport. You have to eat what you kill.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The article fails to mention anything about how many people are accidentally shot by hunters in Japan every year. If feral and native animals are causing damage to people's livelihoods it is a problem that should be addressed by the local municipalities who should be employing professionals to eradicate the problem animals. Calling on the general public, who have very little idea about gun safety, to go out and start shooting anything that moves is just asking for trouble.

I too very much enjoy the taste of wild game. Wood duck is one of my favorites. Dress it, boil it for 20 minutes, season it and roast it. Fantastic! It's so much better than boring chicken. However, if you really want to try something gamey and delicious, get a couple of slabs of kangaroo thigh. Fry them up to medium rare on the barby with some garlic, pepper and rosemary and get into 'em! Delicious!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

For me the purpose of life is grow, procreate/nurture more life and die.

This can be also be done as food for other life-forms.

It don't differ from animal or plant life. Circle of life.

My devalued 2 yen.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Very few accidental killings here over the decades.

Recall sitting in a tree waiting for a buck and getting the right shot, we also fished and all was used/consumed.

Back in South Africa i hunted warthogs with a crossbow (preferred) miss a shot and an unhappy animal is after you. Not fun still got scars.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Although hunting's never been a hobby of mine I have no problem with it and agree that it is 'A" way to better control wildlife populations ( am against foxhunting and the likes though, been to one hunt- never again).

As long as hunters respect all rules in place, property rights, quotas etc and do not kill protected/endangered species am fine with it. (saw my first kamoshika last week, in the wild. What a beautiful beast ).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's their world not ours so after thousands of years the concept of convienence negates any Barbaric" concept of get your own food?

The point being killing animals for food is not the only food source of these would be hunters. Everyone has the option to eat in ways that are better for them, the planet, and for animals. Plant-based eating is hardly a sacrifice, but a fabulous culinary experience and an opportunity to do good for yourself and the planet.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The point being killing animals for food is not the only food source of these would be hunters.Everyone has the option to eat in ways that are better for them, the planet, and for animals. Plant-based eating is hardly a sacrifice, but a fabulous culinary experience and an opportunity to do good for yourself and the planet.

Humans are and have been omnivores since the dawn of humans. Fortunately we aren't carnivores, like cats, who would get sick if we tried to live on a vegetable based diet, so that we can enjoy the culinary delights that fruits and vegetables bring. For those of you who choose to only eat vegetables, good on you. But for those of us who have no moral objection to eating meat, the reasons you have chosen just won't resonate with us. We were made to eat meat, and always have. Animals eating animals is a part of this planet.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Damn, I love wildlife.

Leave the guns at home. If damage to farm produce is a problem, spend more time and effort learning to build effective fences.

fewer people are interested in hunting nowadays 

This is a good thing, and as it should be.

-1 ( +13 / -14 )

Don't recall a requirement for high visibility jackets here nor in other countries I hunted.

Most hunters are well trained.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Hunting is from an other age.

it used to be necessary to feed people but not anymore. This was mainly concerning people living in the countryside and the skills were transmitted from generation to generation. This is not the case anymore, population decreasing in rural areas, and food being largely available at supermarkets.

And, how can we find any pleasure to killing living species in the wild.

Though I love deer meat, I won't kill it.

My family used to hunt up to my grandfather generation, not anymore

In my area in France, deers became more or less protected and have multiplied bringing lot of ticks associated diseases such as the Lyme disease

-2 ( +8 / -10 )

cleo, zizou I agree.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

I've started to get a feel for hunting. I'd like to go hunting in nature

Leave the gun at home and take a camera instead. My brother also used to take a sketch pad with him.

Guns. Ugh.

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

It takes a tough man to kill defenseless animals. Hunting can endanger the local population.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Very few accidental killings here over the decades.

Yeah, with very few hunters. More hunters means more accidental deaths, does it not?

"I've started to get a feel for hunting. I'd like to go hunting in nature," said another participant, Gaku Narisawa, a 20-year-old company employee who took his girlfriend along to the workshop.

This is the perfect example of why it should not be extended. Do you really want some 20 year old office boy wandering around the forest with a rifle shooting at anything that moves with his 'kowaii' girlfriend watching on while she's doing her nails? Seriously? He'll be lucky if he doesn't kill himself or his girlfriend way before he sees any wildlife.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Would you prefer hunters use pitfall traps, snares, spears and bows?

I would prefer they stayed home by the fireside and enjoyed a nice, tasty vegetarian option.

I guarantee that most of the people moaning on here about hunting eat meat themselves

See above, vegetarian option all the way. Calling it 'hunting for meat' is merely smearing lipstick on a pig. What you're doing is eating semi-decomposed dead bodies. Ugh.

So, your guarantee is broken. What do I get?

Meat which spent its whole life confined and fed all sorts of weird stuff

Meat doesn't have a life, the animal has a life, and yes, that awful image of torture in the feedlot followed by the bloody abattoir is what first turned me towards vegetarianism.

if you eat vegetable chances are you killed a plant, plants may not be sentient to the same degree as animals but they are still living things.

Oh sweet lord not this old turnip again. We have to eat something. Plants are not sentient, so we eat those. If you kill Bambi because you don't want to kill a plant, Bambi has already killed a truckload of plants to get to the size he is. You're not saving any plants by eating dead bodies.

why do people have issues with hunting but not fishing?

Who sez we don't? The thread is about hunting, not fishing. Gimme a thread about fishing and we can go at it. Nets dragged out of the water onto the boat, fish twitching and gasping as they die - horrible, absolutely horrible.

probably because fish are not cute 

Who sez fish are not cute? I save up year round just to be able to spend a few days in the sea looking at the cute fish. Also got a few tanks of cute fish at home. Fish is cute.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

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