The Japanese army has been sent to the northern mountainous part of the country to help combat the growing bear population, after a series of attacks on people. According to the „Reuters“ agency, the decision was made after an urgent request from local authorities, who are unable to cope with the wave of incidents on their own, reports News.bg.
The operation began in the city of Kazuno, where residents have been warned for weeks to avoid forests, not to go out after sunset and to wear bells to scare the animals.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, over 100 bear attacks have been registered in the country since April, in which 12 people have died - the highest number ever. Two-thirds of the deaths were in Akita prefecture, where Kazuno and Iwate are located.
“Bears are increasingly entering populated areas, and attacks are increasing daily. We can no longer delay action“, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato told a news conference in Tokyo.
According to local authorities, the number of bears observed in Akita has increased sixfold in the past year - to more than 8,000. This has prompted the prefectural governor to request official assistance from the Self-Defense Forces.
An army truck, several jeeps and more than a dozen soldiers, some of them wearing bulletproof vests, arrived in Kazuno today. Soldiers will help transport, set and check traps, while the animals will be destroyed only by licensed hunters.
Experts say that climate change, lack of natural food and depopulation of rural areas are bringing bears closer to people. At the same time, the number of active hunters in the country is decreasing, while the remaining ones are old and overworked.
In recent months, bears have attacked customers in a supermarket, a tourist at a bus stop near a UNESCO site and a worker at a spa resort.
Japanese black bears, found throughout most of the country, weigh up to 130 kg, while brown bears on the northern island of Hokkaido can exceed 400 kg.
This is not the first time the army has been involved in wildlife control - ten years ago, military helicopters were used to hunt wild deer. Similar operations are known in other countries, with the British Army providing logistical support for the mass culling of animals infected with foot-and-mouth disease in 2001.