29-07-2025
Ministry releases guidelines for shooting bears in urban areas
A bear scampers through a residential area in Sapporo's Higashi Ward in June 2021. (Provided by Hokkaido Television Broadcasting Co.)
Ministry officials have declared open hunting season on bears that have strayed into urban areas and pose a threat to residents.
However, the shoot-to-kill order with hunting rifles, which will take effect in autumn, will be at the discretion of municipal mayors.
The Environment Ministry on July 8 released guidelines that describe the circumstances in which shooting wild animals, such as a brown bear, a black bear and a wild boar, will be justified.
The ministry held explanatory meetings for municipal government officials ahead of autumn, the high season of bear sightings.
It has been prohibited, in principle, to use hunting guns in urban areas except in limited circumstances, including on the order of a police officer on the grounds that human lives are in danger.
It has also been legally difficult, when a bear has holed up in a building and in other similar situations, to take immediate lethal action with rifles as long as humans are not under attack.
The Law on the Protection and Management of Wildlife, and the Optimization of Hunting was revised in April to authorize the use of guns in urban areas at the discretion of municipal mayors starting Sept. 1.
The authorization, however, is contingent on prerequisites, including the elimination of the risks ahead of shooting.
The guidelines designate the specifics, for municipal officials, including on advance preparations, such as cooperation with hunters, and on how safety should be ensured when a bear is present.
The document says measures should be taken to ensure that no humans will be hit by stray bullets.
That includes closing surrounding areas to traffic, evacuating the residents and checking on requirements, such as the presence of a backstop barrier for catching stray rounds behind the bear.
The guidelines also illustrate what actions should be taken in specific cases, such as a bear on a riverbed or in a supermarket.
Environment Ministry officials said they are planning to organize on-site training sessions by the end of the current fiscal year in March.
NUANCED VIEWS
Bears have often been sighted in residential areas. They have been spotted in houses, in schools, at an airport and elsewhere during the latest days and months alone.
People on the front lines of the campaign expressed mixed and nuanced views on the matter.
Atsushi Horie, head of the Hokkaido hunters' association, welcomed the change in the law, but with reservations.
'It will be meaningful for allowing prompt reaction to be taken in urban areas,' he said. 'But there are lingering concerns that hunters could still be held responsible for the shots they have fired.'
The Hokkaido hunters' association has held many discussions with police on the safety and wisdom of firing rifles in urban areas. Horie said he feels the question of responsibility for injuring bystanders has, however, been left unresolved.
'Hunters are pitching in only as volunteers after all, even though some of them could end up being killed,' Horie said. 'Others could end up subjected to punishment or with criminal records, even though they have risked their lives in the front-line work. I hope there will be advance talks between municipal authorities, police and hunting clubs so we can fire our guns without anxiety.'
The discretion of municipal governments will henceforth be playing a key role in deciding whether lethal action needs to be taken.
One official with the Sapporo municipal government said the amended regulation will likely make it easier to take action in certain cases, such as when a bear has holed up in a private residence.
There are, however, lingering concerns about how to notify citizens promptly and ensure their safety when, for example, there is a bear on the move and the situation keeps changing, the official added.
'Nothing is ever simple,' the Sapporo official said. 'There is need for the utmost care if we are to have bears gunned down on the instruction of our municipal government.'
(This article was written by Nami Sugiura and Koki Furuhata.)
