A remote Japanese town, Semboku city, is selling bear meat from a vending machine.
Bear attacks are an increasing problem in parts of rural Japan due to a shortage of food in the forests that brings the animals into inhabited areas to forage.
“The bears can be dangerous when they come into town, so hunters will set up traps or shoot them,” said Daishi Sato, who placed the vending machine outside his ‘soba’ noodle shop near the railway station in Semboku, 400 km (250 miles) north of Tokyo in Akita prefeacture.
Asian black bears are listed as vulnerable, but not critically so, and it is legal to eat bear in Japan.
“Bear meat isn’t very common so we want tourists who come to visit the town to buy it,” Sato said.
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Bears in Japan:
Japan is home to two species of bear: the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the brown bear (Ursus arctos). The Asiatic black bear, also known as the moon bear due to the distinctive white or cream crescent-shaped mark on its chest, is more common and can be found in Honshu and Shikoku islands. However, they are less frequently seen in Kyushu. These bears generally inhabit mountainous forests.
The brown bear, locally referred to as the Ezo brown bear, is only found on the northern island of Hokkaido. This species is larger than the Asiatic black bear and is closely related to the North American brown bear.
Bears in Japan play a significant role in the local culture and folklore, often depicted in traditional stories and art. However, human-bear conflicts sometimes arise due to habitat encroachment and food scarcity, leading to measures by local authorities to manage these situations while also working towards conservation efforts to protect these magnificent creatures. Efforts include public education on bear behavior and habitat preservation to mitigate negative interactions between humans and bears.