Abstract
About four million deer inhabit Japan, and about four hundred thousand deer are killed every year as animals destructive to agricultural and forestry activities. Almost all of the killed deer become garbage to be disposed of and they are not used as natural resources. It is necessary to look for value in eating venison, and using deerskin and deer velvet. From old times, the Japanese people have always had a loved and noble impression of deer, and they worshiped deer as a messenger and beast of the gods in some Japanese shrines. Since Japanese people have had deep and good relationships with a deer for a long time, Japanese should live together in symbiosis with deer from now on, too.
In this first presentation about deer, I would like to talk about the current relationships between the Japanese people and deer, and value of using deer as natural resources.
