Game-Meat Utilization Through the Trade of Captured Individuals between Hunters and Processing Plants

Abstract

In Japan, the capture of deer and wild boar is being promoted to mitigate wildlife damage, but because there is no system to use them as food resources, disposal of their carcasses has become a problem. There is a movement to promote the use of captured animals as game meat. In this study, we investigated three areas (Fujimi Town, Nagano Prefecture; Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture; and Misato Town, Shimane Prefecture) where captured animals are converted into food resources for sale. We determined the current situation regarding the conversion of captured animals into food resources, and the importance of food resource utilization was assessed by focusing on the transactions between hunters and game-meat processing plants. The results showed that in two areas, the conversion of animals into food resources had begun as a mitigation measure to overcome problems involved with the disposal of animals caught in traps. Currently, the captured animals that are sold as food resources are mainly those caught by trapping because of the need to guarantee production history through live capture and rapid primary processing. Because the number of trappers is increasing, the importance of trapped wildlife as a food resource is expected to increase in the future.