Abstract
Although Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata, are not game animals, they are culled as pest mammals without sufficient evidence to verify effectiveness. Using a nationwide questionnaire survey, we conducted a review of the present macaque management policy. Questionnaires were administered to 542 municipalities where population control has been exerted for the past 5 years, and 366 (67.5%) municipalities responded. The major findings of the survey are as follows: (1) most municipalities culled macaques as a stopgap damage control (and not via systematic population control); (2) most population control projects are executed by clubs hunting for sport, with administrative supervision; (3) evidence that determines the number of macaques to be captured is often negligible; (4) the most common population control method in every municipality is shooting, and some regions also use large-sized box traps to cull macaque troops; (5) the effectiveness of population control has not been determined in most municipalities because of a lack of continuous assessment of population dynamics; (6) although some municipalities indulging in troop culling have succeeded in achieving effective damage control, such a situation is not widely prevalent.
