Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore how we should build the relationship with the wildlife doing negative effects on the human life. The “Wildlife issues” taken up here is the damage to crops by wild boars. The damage by wild boars has become a crucial social issue in Japan’s rural area. Although the reason of the increasing damage has been an object of study in various fields, for example in the ethology, there is little study from sociological angle. This paper focuses on rural people’s opinions, which are investigated through intensive interviews. The opinion of people who have suffered from the wild boars’ problem is, in fact, the key to an understanding of “Wildlife issues”.
The most interested finding is that the people’s opinion on the wild boars’ problem relies not only on their personal direct experiences, but also on the common view constructed in the community life. The latter view is crucial, when the community members decide to deal with such kind of issues.
