By Rinto Abe,
Rampant Yezo deer have been causing major problems in Hokkaido, with the animals eating farmers' crops and causing traffic accidents following years of unchecked population growth and a lack of local government assistance, according to experts and local community members.
Protection policies for the animals, indigenous to Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido, and a decrease in the number of deer hunters have contributed to a population explosion, having previously been in danger of extinction during the Meiji era (1868-1912).
Sharp increases in the deer population during the 1990s prompted the Hokkaido prefectural government to begin strengthening efforts to cull them since around fiscal 2010.
But problems emerged over the illegal dumping of the slaughtered animals' unwanted carcasses and organs. The hunters responsible for shooting them complain about a lack of government assistance.
The Yezo deer population peaked at an estimated 770,000 in fiscal 2011 and had been on a downward trend, but it has since rebounded and has grown in recent years.
Damage caused by wildlife to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries in Hokkaido totaled 5.45 billion yen ($40.40 million) in fiscal 2021, with deer accounting for more than 80 percent of the total, causing 4.48 billion yen worth of destruction.
Over 70 percent of the damage caused by deer in Japan's agricultural industry occurs in Hokkaido.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the prefectures with the largest amount of deer-related destruction outside of Hokkaido are, in order, Iwate, Hyogo and Nagano prefectures.
Even Iwate, however, saw approximately 210 million yen in damage, less than one-twentieth of the amount of Hokkaido.
In 2022, the number of traffic accidents involving deer in Hokkaido reached a record of 4,475.
"In recent years, the number of deer in Greater Sapporo has also increased, in addition to the eastern part of Hokkaido," said Hiromasa Igota, associate professor of game animal management science at Rakuno Gakuen University in Ebetsu, Hokkaido. Sapporo is the capital of the island prefecture.
The erection of fences to prevent deer from entering agricultural fields to feed, alongside hunting to curtail their numbers, are the only measures available for mitigating damage to farm products and preventing traffic accidents, Igota said.
The hunting of Yezo deer is permitted during designated periods in certain locations. Additionally, "licensed hunters" can be commissioned by local governments, which compensates them for their services.
A prefectural government official said Hokkaido has "produced some good results," with about 110,000 deer killed by licensed hunters in fiscal 2021 to address the excess numbers.
But a large amount of dumping occurs. In April 2022, 36 deer carcasses were found left, together with their internal organs, in the city of Furano. In May of the same year, more than 100 were found in the town of Akkeshi.
Authorities believe that in all of the cases, the deer were hunted elsewhere and dumped in the locations after being slaughtered.
Hunters are required to bury or take the butchered remains of the animals with them, as carcass dumping is prohibited by law.
There is a risk of luring brown bears to national forests where much of the illegal dumping occurs. Although the prefectural police often conduct investigations to find the culprits, they are often unable to determine who carried out the activities, since the deer are killed and slaughtered deep in the woods.
Kazushige Misaka, 65, who has hunted deer in the town of Ikeda for 35 years and heads the local branch of a hunters' association in Hokkaido, said, "Support from the prefectural government is inadequate, even though they keep asking us to hunt."
After removing usable parts of the animal, such as the meat and its horns, processing the rest of its remains at prefectural facilities, such as in Sapporo, can cost about 5,000 yen per 15 kilograms. An average 100-kg deer will produce around 60 kg of remains, costing roughly 20,000 yen for processing.
The prefectural government set up four free-of-charge deer processing stations on a trial basis in 2011. Although they saw more than 200 people using their services while open, they were shut down after one year.
"The stations were originally funded by a government grant. In our current financial situation, it is difficult for us to continue operating them," said the prefectural official.
But Misaka is hopeful the situation will improve with additional government support.
"Illegal dumping will likely decrease if low-cost disposal areas become more easily available," he said.
