Mobile slaughterhouse for wild game launched in Kochi town

How much does it cost to 'butcher' an animal?

By the way, it's not a slaughterhouse if the animals are already dead. It's a butchery. Do these jokers not have a dictionary?

Reintroduce wolves, there is very little livestock in Japan so it has a great chance of naturally controlling boar & deer populations. Won't happen of course, any animal that strays into the path of humans here seems to be immediately slaughtered.

In Yusuhara, about 1,500 wild boars and deer were captured by hunters

Hunters kill their prey, not capture it!

I think it could find its way to restaurants. It's difficult to get a hold of shika deer now unless you are a hunter or have contacts, so many restaurants source their venison from New Zealand etc.

I would love for wolves to be reintroduced, they have only been gone for around a century. I think the issues would be of a limited scale, wolves are much more shy than most carnivores, certainly than the Japanese bears and human fatalities are practically unheard of.

The deer population would be much improved with the wolves culling vast amounts of old and weak animals.

Here in Scotland they are considering reintroducing Lynx, and there has been talk of reintroducing wolves. From a wildlife standpoint this would have the effect of (if introduced into the right areas) reducing the number of deer to sustainable levels, and the wolves would naturally settle at sustainable levels... however there are farmers and land owners who make money from hoorays coming in and shooting animals for sport. The farmers are anti wildlife and the hoorays just want the money from the toffs shooting deer and grouse.

In Japan you have wild boar... and they seem to be the prime target of the elderly hunters - why are most hunters in Japan elderly? Anyway, introducing predators into Japan would probably only have a detrimental effect on those predators... hunters would shoot them, or a hunter is attacked by one and so they are all exterminated again. As long as there is a hunting culture in a country there will always be wild animals getting into hot water with people.

The reason for this truck is not really explained. Hunters can kill an animal and eat it or give the meat to a friend. However, they cannot sell it. Only meat that has been through an approved slaughterhouse can legally be sold. Hunters sometimes kill more than they and their friends can consume to get paid a bounty by the city.

Hunters are literally dying out in Japan. It is extremely hard to get a gun licence in Japan, and like a driving licence it needs regular renewals. The few young people who live in the countryside think it is too problematic to become a hunter, much easier to get meat from a supermarket.

Where I live, wild boar and sightings have become common. I lived here for several years before I saw a boar or deer. Tanuki were the only common ones about ten years ago. The deer around here used to be seen only at night. Now they can be seen in the daylight as they are not afraid of humans.

There is also a threat from invasive species. The Taiwanese barking deer, kyon, is spreading over Chiba. More of a problem is raccoons, which have been imported as pets. When they get too big, their owners often release them in the wild. I am told this is often done because the owners have seen a TV manga about a raccoon, and that was the happy ending.

Both inoshishi and kyon can produce delicious food when cooked in a suitable many. In a pressure cooker with red wine works really well. A friend makes excellent pate. I have had excellent results cooking chopped up kyon with fresh chillies, garlic and holy basil (gapao).

A great convenience. Wonderful idea.

Reintroducing wolves into the mix would be problematic

Of course it would be problematic, but so is the current situation. With rural areas continuing to rapidly depopulate, it's at least worth researching isn't it? Look at the benefits that reintroduction has had in Yellowstone and other areas.

Reintroduce wolves, there is very little livestock in Japan so it has a great chance of naturally controlling boar & deer populations. Won't happen of course, any animal that strays into the path of humans here seems to be immediately slaughtered.

It isn't just "here" so don't start thinking that it's another Japanese thing either. Reintroducing wolves into the mix would be problematic and not for what reasons you are considering here.

I take in most of the above posters do not live in Japan from their comments, Japanese hunters both hunt and kill their prey or they set traps to capture their prey and later slaughter it.

As for the comment "any animal that strays into the path of humans here(Japan) seems to be immediately slaughtered." That happens is most countries around the world, but not so much in Japan because of laws.

great idea, if it brings wild deer and boar to become readily more available im in, venison and boar meat is awesome! unfortunately most of it will probably just become pet food.

Must admit, wild boar is pretty delicious. As long as it's as humane as possible.

Other than that it sounds a very good idea. And yes, Venison and wild boar are delicious.

The vehicle is equipped with a chiller, which can store up to five boar and deer carcasses, and features a dissection room, where the skin and internal organs can be cut out and disinfected.

Sounds like the perfect field trip idea for local elementary school students.

Didn't know Japan was a part of the US.

Neither do deer, boar or wolves. They don't have passports. You do know what we're talking about here, don't you? Or were you just being pedantic?

I agree that it seems strange that animals are "captured". How can the writer actually write that without realising in his/her head the immense difficulty of escorting a 100 kilo boar or half-maimed deer out of a trap and into that marvel of a truck?!

I can only imagine, but I guess the truck has a crane-like winch that swings out to raise the carcass up and load it.

Interested in knowing exactly how they're going to do that second killing and why it's necessary

It'll be necessary because of all the new young inexperienced 'hunting is cool' gang they're trying to recruit, who will be dragging in injured/stunned/paralysed 'game'. I suppose it's better than letting Bambi stagger off to die slowly and painfully in the forest, but better still if they just leave the wildlife alone.

With rural areas continuing to rapidly depopulate, it's at least worth researching isn't it? Look at the benefits that reintroduction has had in Yellowstone and other areas.

Didn't know Japan was a part of the US.

As long as there is a hunting culture in a country there will always be wild animals getting into hot water with people.

Don't get the wrong idea here, there is an extreme aversion to any type of weapons among the general public and there is no real hunting culture either.