Hokkaido has a deer problem, specifically 144,000 of them, which is approximately 143,000 too many. And they are increasing year by year. They have no natural predators as all of the island's wolves were hunted to extinction by the beginning of the 20th century and the bears are more interested in eating salmon (or Cian, depending how bad he has been). This wasn't such a problem when the majority of the island was still wilderness but as the land was cleared and cultivated over the past 100 years, the deer developed a taste for vegetables. And fruit. And corn. And pretty much anything that wasn't tree bark. They also developed a habit of wandering out onto roads and causing some pretty serious traffic accidents, which is why most of Hokkaido's motorways are lined with 2 metre high fences.
The only way to contain the deer population is by culling them but like the rest of Japan, Hokkaido's hunters are both aging and declining in number, and really would you trust an octogenerian with a high powered rifle? But you would trust the army, sorry, the self-defense forces, right? Which is why last week out in Shiranuka-cho near Kushiro, the army, sorry, the self defense forces turned up with some heavy weaponry and helicopters to "reign fire upon these goddamn deer!", as Colonel Kirugore of the 8th Airborne Division put it. You can see them in action here (sensitive viewers should note that there are disturbing images of a dead bambi). Unfortunately, after 2 hours of a classic 'Nam-like search-and-destroy mission, they managed to rack up a body count of exactly one deer. And apparently he was getting on in years anyway.
They are thinking of trying this next.
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