Abstract
To evaluate people's opinions concerning the release of the Japanese Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon, a questionnaire was mailed throughout Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The 1,000 target individuals were selected randomly from within the 20 to 79 year age group. Results from the 591 respondents indicated almost 74% to have appreciated the release, and only 26% have neither agreed nor disagreed. The most common reason people gave for their appreciation was “they have lived here”, though only 16% of the people had actually seen the Japanese Crested Ibis in the wild. Their concerns related to the release were related mainly toward the success of the release rather than to any harm the birds might cause to crops. Especially, they worried about the released Japanese Crested Ibis survival. These results may be affected by the media like TV. Many people treated Japanese Crested Ibis as a local symbol, or a symbol of nature, and only a few viewed the bird as a potentially commercial venurte. Similar results were obtained from a questionnaire on the Oriental Storks Ciconia boyciana in Toyooka City. The releases in the past have been done far from the villages. This Japanese Crested Ibis release is the second case done near the villages, just after the release of the Oriental Storks. The sequential research will be done to compare the two questionnaires relating to the Oriental Stork and the Japanese Crested Ibis.
