| Bear Conservation and Japan Illegal Trade in Bear Bile Government Policy, Legislation, and Enforcement Action of JWCS |
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| BEAR CONSERVATION AND JAPAN | |
| The number of bears in the world has been rapidly decreasing in the past few decades. The main reasons for it are believed to be loss and fragmentation of natural habitats and poaching for obtaining the gall bladder of bears to be used in traditional medicine. Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are found on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, and the populations range from
roughly 8,400 to 12,600 animals (Japan Wildlife Research Center 1991).
Asian black bears were placed in Appendix I by CITES and listed as vulnerable
in the IUCN Red Data List. Japanese brown bears (Ursus arctos) are found only in the northern island of Hokkaido. The estimated brown bear population in the 1990s is about 2,000 (provisional statistics, Hokkaido prefecture). Japanese brown bears were placed in Appendix II of CITES, but were not listed in the IUCN Red Data List. Brown bears have been the main target of pest control, and their habitats have been subdivided and have deteriorated due to development in natural forests. Over one thousand bears are killed annually in the name of sport hunting and pest control, without the implementation of proper conservation control measures. This lack of domestic regulation on hunting, capturing and trade in bears is contributing to the continuing illegal international trade and poaching of bears, even outside Japan. The commercial value of bear gall bladder and bear bile has led to a lucrative international trade and has increased hunting pressure on wild populations of bears throughout the world. Japan is related to these issues because it is one of the biggest consumer countries using bear gall and bile. Another conservation issue is inappropriate captivity of bears in Japan. Although the Japanese bear parks are described as leisure parks for tourists, all these parks are of a very poor quality with regard to animal welfare standards. In addition,some of these parks sell bear products, including gall bladders. Thus, there are many problems threatening the Asiatic Black and Brown bears in Japan. Education, conservation, and new policies are needed in order to improve the situation of bears in Japan and worldwide. |
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