Wildlife Damage and Hunting Activities in Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture

Abstract

This study investigated how hunting activities have changed in the city of Mimasaka, Okayama prefecture, where the number of wild deer and wild boars captured has increased as agricultural damage caused by wildlife has increased since the 1990s. Although Mimasaka took measures such as harmful wildlife control and protective fence installation, many farmers felt that protective fences were not fully effective. Thus they started hunting with traps. The rapid improvement of their hunting skills and their ability to spend more time on hunting led to a significant increase in the number of wildlife captured per hunter. In addition, this study conducted a questionnaire survey among hunters in Mimasaka. The results revealed that almost all of them intended to continue hunting in the future. However, it was also clarified that there are various difficulties in continuing hunting activities, such as financial and operational time constraints, as well as physical disability due to aging. The characteristics and roles of hunting activities in Mimasaka have undergone significant transformation, from gun hunting to trap hunting, from small game to big game, and from hobby or leisure activity to duty or labor.