Save Starving Miyajima Deer in Japan

Target: The world heritage committee, The national federation of UNESCO associations in Japan, Hiroshima Prefecture Governor, Hatsukaichi City Mayor

**************************************************
UPDATE:

(Sept 2008)

The volunteers have noticed that the number of deer decreased dramatically in past two-three weeks. There are rumor that some villager is killing the deer even though the area is protected as a 'no-hunting-zone'. In Miyajima, the antlers of male deer are trimmed each year around this time. Male deer were taken away by truck load for antler trimming and never came back. The volunteers suspect that deer are either killed or locked up in a secret location. A group - the volunteers and the researchers - are going in to find out what is really going on.

(April 2009)
By April 2009, the number of Miyajima deer in the town decreased by 50%. But it does not seem that the number of deer outside the town increased. The volunteers did not find that many bodies of the dead deer in the city either. It is likely that someone is killing the animal illegally and exporting to the mainland. Unfortunatelly the evidence for illegal hunting has not be found for the police to take an action.
**************************************************

Miyajima (or Itsukushima) is an island very close to Hiroshima city in Japan. It is a very famous tourist location in Japan and It's name literally means "shrine island". Miyajima is a UNESCO world heritage site and designated one of the top three scenic places in Japan. The famous shrine on the island, Itsukushima Jinja, is considered one of the holiest places in Japan.

There have been deer on the island for over 300 years. They were originally considered as a symbol of Miyajima, as divine messengers from the gods of the shrine. During the Second World War, the residents were forced to eat the deer due to food shortages. Deer population decreased sharply but after the war more female deer from Nara city were brought in to boost the population. The deer increased in population, then became a prominent feature of Miyajima and became an added tourist attraction for the island.

In year 2000, the Miyajima's increased deer population became an issue first time. The complains from the residents - the deer breaking into their houses and shops, and making mess - the local government have recently decided to send the deer back to the wild and control the population by simply "STOP FEEDING" them.

Many shops used to sell deer food. The deer are very tame. The tourists used to feed them and deer would eat from their hands. The shops also sell many deer souvenirs.

Because of the local government's decision, starting last autumn, the shops have stopped selling the deer food. There are signs everywhere to instruct not to feed the animals. There are not enough grass or food in the mountains either. Therefore the deer are still wandering in the town looking for food. As a result deer are getting weak and starving to death.

The starving deer started going into the garbage and eat paper and plastic bags just to fill up their stomach. Some of them even ate plastic containers. The local residents shouted some tourists when the tourists tired to feed the deer. There were some incidents that the deer were beaten or stubbed to death.

The local volunteer group examined the deer; all of them appeared emaciated and ill. Their coats were in extremely bad condition and some seem to have skin disease and loosing the fur. When the volunteers fed the deer, they scrambled desperately for the food. Fawns and weak deer were not able to compete with stronger deer. There also were dead deer on the beach. When the volunteer group mentioned the situation to a resident, the person said that it is an everyday experience and told to leave it alone. Some of the residents feel sorry for the deer and feed them secretly, some openly.

Instead of abandoning and starving the deer to death, the volunteer group is proposing a solution to the local government: sterilization of deer and feeding programs far from the residential areas. So far the local government is refusing the proposal saying they rather spend money on mainating public facilities.

Once the divine messengers of god, Miyajima deer do not deserve this kid of treatment. 

Please spread the word and help us stop this animal cruelty.

Please email/a letter the following organizations:

The world heritage committee wh-info@unesco.org

The national federation of UNESCO associations in Japan https://www.unesco.jp/en/index.html

Hiroshima Prefecture office koe@kankou.pref.hiroshima.jp

Hatsukaichi City hall http://www.city.hatsukaichi.hiroshima.jp/toiawase/index.html


The Honorable Katsuhiro Shinno
Mayor of Hatsukaichi City
1-11-1 Shimohera, Hatsukaichi City
Hiroshima Prefecture 738-8501
JAPAN
011-81-829-32-1059 (fax)

The Honorable Yuzan Fujita
Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture
10-52 Motomachi, Nakaku, Hiroshima City
Hiroshima Prefecture 730-8511
JAPAN
011-81-82-224-4747 (fax)
teigen@pref.hiroshima.lg.jp

Embassy of Japan in the United States
2520 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20008
202-328-2187 (fax)
jicc@embjapan.org

More Info:
The original website by the volunteer group
http://miyajimanosinjitu.web.fc2.com/page010.html

A web site in English
http://itsukushima.blogspot.com/
An article from Japan Times on Line
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20061021cz.html


*The picture shown is from May this year when their fur is changing, their fur condition is much better now.

The average weight of deer in Nara is 60-80kgs, whereas the average weight of deer in Miyajima is only 30-40kgs.