2003 Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages 1-9
To evaluate the condition of agricultural damages by Japanese wild boars (Sus scrofa) and Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata), and farmers' attitude toward it, a questionnaire was conducted in Yamanashi Prefecture in 1998. There were 338 respondents, and the response rate was 56.3%. Both wild boars' damages, mostly to rice, potatoes, and corns, and monkeys' damages, mostly to persimmon, pumpkin, soybean, and potatoes, increased rapidly in the Heisei era (1988-). Most of the farmers hoped to decrease or exterminate boar and monkey populations, and few of them supported the idea to make compensation system or to build fences around their farms. Respondents who would maintain their farming consist 41.7%, however 32.5% would shrink their activity and 25.1% would abandon it. Respondents suffering damages thought to shrink or abandon their activity significantly more than the other respondents (X2-test, p < 0.05).
