Asiatic black bear conservation in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan : problems and solutions

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Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) depredation levels remain high in Japan even though over 1, 000 nuisance bears are killed annually, and an additional 1, 000 bears are killed during the hunting season. Nuisance activity includes damages to trees, crops, orchards, apiaries, fish farms, and other property. Landowners experiencing bear damages request hunter assistance. Hunters then set cage traps to catch and kill nuisance bears, and legally sell the parts, especially the gall bladders, of the bears they killed. We promoted non-lethal methods to reduce Asiatic black bear depredation in Nagano Prefecture from 1995 to 2000. Hunters were the most reluctant to adopt non-lethal methods to reduce depredation ; landowners were somewhat reluctant ; and municipal officials were the least reluctant. Hunter financial and emotional rewards for killing bears were large. Landowners were not actively involved in the protection of their property because they lacked know-how and resources, and because hunters offered an easy alternative. Reducing long term depredation may require the prefectural government to : (1) lead an aggressive and sustained campaign to teach landowners how to avoid conflicts with bears and to reinforce the fact that the systematic killing of nuisance bears has failed to reduce long term depredation in the past ; (2) encourage and finance widespread use of preventive methods such as the removal of bear attractants, the planting of crops that are not attractive to bears in areas at risk, electric fences, and the protection and restoration of broadleaf forests rich in bear foods ; and (3) change or remove the financial incentives linking the killing of bears to the protection of property. Furthermore, a national bear gall bladder tagging system would allow the monitoring of the legal national trade in bear parts and would help monitor annual bear kills.
野生生物保護学会の論文

Asiatic black bear conservation in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan : problems and solutions

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