Hair from culled Hokkaido deer made into jeans

As it should be: “Iwamatsu has taken part in culls for 19 years, always consuming or selling the meat of the animals killed as his grandfather, also a hunter, had taught him not to waste anything.”

Accompanying photos would have helped readers to better understand Iwamatsu is respecting nature by finding uses for what was mistakenly discarded previously:

“As the hides and hair were of no apparent use[??],* *he discarded them but always "felt guilty about it."

Waste not want not! Good on them!

PETA will have another snit-fit. LOL!

I am somewhat amazed that Japan would have a problem making cloth from deerskin or deer hair. Heck in the U.S. Native Americans always made clothing and shoes from deerskin.

EAT THEM!!

not the jeans you understand! ;)

Its not denim then is it.

Also we have a horrible problem in North Carolina with deer over-population due to the lack of predators. Buckskin clothing shoes and venison is very popular here.

Dear me. Wonder if the jeans are dear or reasonably priced. Joking aside, at least when living creatures killed in Japan for human consumption, basically all body parts are used whether it's cows, chickens, or pigs (not to mention fish and whales).

We DO! @Sheikh Yerboaby 9:08am: “EAT THEM!!”- Almost every part of the deer, including the offal yet, not the skin, hooves or antlers. Venison is delicious and low in fat. - On a slightly ‘off-topic’ aside, silk worms are also edible (minus the bitter head, kind of a ‘mashed potato’ taste) yet, could perhaps be perceived as wasteful when they can produce such wonderful natural fibers for clothing, previously as surgical sutures, etc. - There are plenty of other ‘less-than-beneficial’ insects in abundance that can be used as supplemental sources of protein when in the wild. And, again: Why would we eat insects when wild fruits, nuts, greens, vegetables and game is available?

Nothing like a good venison stew. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Tokyo-m. Slaughtered animals, slaughtered plants who were kept alive by slaughtering animals who tried to eat them, chemicals whose production slaughters animals with waste materials........ what is the difference? In the long run, whatever material we use to make clothes will involve slaughter of one kind or another. The way in this article at least seems efficient.

How horrible. Dressing in the skin and hair of slaughtered animals. No thanks.

I respect the vegan position, but we live in a society which slaughters animals. It would be a worse thing if we wasted what is killed.

Tokyo-m. Slaughtered animals, slaughtered plants

I don’t go with the slaughtered plants thing.

I had a vegan coworker from India who wouldn’t eat root vegetables because the harvesting often results n the killing of living things including insects, lizards, snakes and mice.

Agreed @Attilathehungry 9:57am: “Nothing like a good venison stew. Mmm..m..mm...” and, delicious venison sausage with homegrown, dried herbs; smoked meat, deer jerky, etc

In reference to your latter observation, “In the long run, *whatever* material we use to make clothes *will involve slaughter* of one kind or another,” perhaps hemp is a alternative, natural fiber for clothing for those more sensitive readers and eaters with strict or partial vegan sensibilities?

I wonder, can't some of the crop damage be avoided by electric fencing? I know there's some maintenance involved, but it could be solar powered during most of the growing season. You'd probably need about 4 strands because deer can jump so high, but still ... I'm sure it'd protect a lot of crops.

Also, I'm quite sure wild boar must be causing as much , or more damage. What do they do to stop that?

Some culling is almost certainly necessary if you have an ecosytem that is out of whack. What would have kept the deer population in check in the past - wolves?

I am somewhat amazed that Japan would have a problem making cloth from deerskin or deer hair.

Not really, hair isn't exactly suitable for cloth, especially denim. Denim is best woven from cotton, or the insidious stretch poly-cotton blends. Some mills in Okayama have had success make wool-cotton and linen-cotton denim blends as well, but deer hair would be challenging, and frankly gimmicky. Better to make hair-on-hide patches and leather jackets with it. Most leather patches used on Japanese denim brands these days are deerskin anyway.

Annual culling of deer populations is humane and necessary to keep deer out of food crops. And yes, deer have been known to eat hemp. To clarify an earlier statement: “*Until the Americans took over the country no THC hemp was grown but the Americans banned it.” - *After Japan’s defeat in WWII, the U.S. led ‘the Allies’ in the occupation and rehabilitation of Japan, with support of the British Commonwealth and the supervision of the Far Eastern Commission (the U.S., the Soviet Union, the U.K., the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of China, France, India, and the Netherlands.) Decisions were taken by a majority vote but U.S., U.K, USSR, and China were able to veto decisions made in the commission. They agreed that establishing democracy in Japan involved change in all areas of Japanese life. The occupation lasted from 1945 - 52. America did insist upon the prohibition but, *since then***,** Japan has had considerable opportunities to amend their Cannabis Control Law but have not chosen to do so.

As for deer, I feed my dog wild hunted Japan venison. High protein, low fat, and being wild, what fat there is, is higher in omega-3 than grain fed farmed animals.

Until the Americans took over the country no THC hemp was grown but the Americans banned it.

Hemp is still grown in Yamanashi, and JA sells certified seeds to the growers with permits. Technically, as long as you have a permit, and use JA seeds then you can grow hemp in Japan. It is not no THC hemp, but industrial hemp has less than 0.3% THC. I think the JA supplied variety has about 1.8%, (either way, it's useless for smoking, but good for everything else that hemp is used for, including painting canvasses).

Unfortunately for Japan, imported hemp derived products are far cheaper, so as a result, all the CBD, CBN, and CBG products available in Japan come from the US. (I used to use one locally produced oil product, but switched to an cheaper Colorado import).

EAT THEM!!

absolutely venison taste great, its lower in cholesterol and fat than beef and pork

1.5 million of the above est. 5 million deer hides the U.S. discards are from car accidents with an overabundant, deer population.

Unfortunately, these 1.5million hides are so badly damaged that the smaller pieces are not serviceable by any tanners. However, when possible, thoroughly-inspected, salvageable meat is donated to indigenous peoples, missions, orphanages, etc.

There are also another estimated 500k accidents where deer wounded in accidents struggle off and die elsewhere where they are unrecoverable.

For road and general public safety, deer populations need to be culled:

North American conservationists also use a large portion of the remaining 3.5 million hides to attract larger, carnivorous predators like mountain lions, wolves and will boar into traps then relocation into the deeper, unpopulated wilderness regions of the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Sika deer and River Avon: examples of 'touch everything, understand nothing' language.

What would have kept the deer population in check in the past... ?

I think I've just solved Kanto's feral bosozoku problem. Let them ride and predate, consume and consummate.

"The increase of yezo sika deer is said to be linked to global warming," said Oikawa

Dwell too much on those words and you'll be culling humans first.

Oh deer

Bambi has bin turned into denim

I am sure that the skin could be used in something, like a jacket or shoes, belts for trousers, as for extra income they could have organised culls, allowing hunters from the rest of the world to travel to Japan ( thus bringing in a bit of extra revenue) and promoting Hokkaido. Hokkaido is a part of Japan that does not get a grate deal of exposure to tourism, its a place I would like to go to, to see and feed the red crown cranes that nest there in the winter.

I've heard of 'hair shirts' but.....

No one wants to wear animal skin or hair unless they are heartless.

Seriously? Many here are not at all “heartless”. Most would gladly give you shoes, a belt, a watch band, a smartphone case, briefcase, car seats, steering wheel, gear shifter, brake lever, etc, etc, etc if you’ve been doing without?

- “No one wants to wear animal skin or hair unless they are heartless”