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The Japanese government has announced plans to recruit hunters to cull bears following a surge in attacks across the country. According to the environment ministry, funds will be allocated to hire licensed hunters and other personnel to control bears that have been straying into residential areas and attacking people. According to the BBC, the decision is part of several measures proposed after a high-level meeting on Thursday to tackle the growing bear problem. So far this year, twelve people have died in bear attacks, the highest number recorded since the country began tracking cases in the 2000s. Victims include a newspaper deliveryman in Hokkaido and a 67-year-old man found dead in his garden in Iwate. The government, which has described bears as a serious threat to public safety, is also considering allowing police officers to use rifles to shoot bears. Officials are expected to finalise the countermeasures by mid-November. Reports show that bears have been breaking into supermarkets and high schools, as well as attacking residents in various regions. Japan is home to two bear species — the Japanese black bear and the larger, typically more aggressive, brown bear found on Hokkaido Island. Over 100 people have been injured this year, including a foreign tourist attacked near a bus stop at a popular site. The situation is most severe in Akita prefecture in northern Japan, where large mountain ranges have contributed to the highest number of casualties. Authorities said this week that Japan’s self-defence forces would assist the Akita government in capturing and repelling bears. “The lives and livelihoods of people are under threat,” defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Tuesday, Kyodo reported. Although troops are prohibited by law from shooting bears, they can assist hunters with trapping and transporting the animals. Akita governor Kenta Suzuki noted that those dealing with the issue have become “exhausted”. Japan’s ageing hunter population and the declining interest in hunting have worsened the crisis, leaving communities more vulnerable as bears increasingly venture into human settlements. Experts believe that food scarcity, particularly a shortage of beech nuts caused by climate change, is pushing bears into populated areas. Declining human populations in rural regions have also been identified as a contributing factor. In response to the growing threat, Japan eased its gun laws in September to allow people to shoot bears more easily in residential areas. ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
