SENDAI – A bear that was seen in a forest near a residential area in Taihaku Ward, Sendai, was culled on Oct 15 after an emergency shooting was authorised for hunters, the city government said that day. <\/p>\n
According to the environment ministry, this was the third case nationwide in which a municipal government authorised such an action, and it was the first time that a bullet was actually fired.<\/p>\n
The bear was a 1.4m-long male. There were no casualties, and buildings and other property were not damaged.<\/p>\n
According to the city government and the Miyagi prefectural police, a ward resident reported a bear was in the woods to a local police station at about 4pm local time on Oct 14. As the bear remained in the woods close to residences, police officers patrolled the area while city government employees went door-to-door urging residents not to go outside unnecessarily.<\/p>\n
At about dawn on Oct 15, the city government and others confirmed the bear was less than 20m from people\u2019s houses. After the conditions for an emergency shooting were met, such as a high risk of the bear entering residential areas and the certainty that firing a weapon would not harm people, the city decided to take emergency action. After implementing traffic restrictions in the area, a hunter fired one shot at about 6am the same day and killed the bear.<\/p>\n
According to the city government, the bear was located at the bottom of a slope in the forest, making it highly likely that any stray bullets would hit the ground. The chief of the ward\u2019s resident life section who was given authority by the mayor concerning an emergency shooting, said the action was taken largely because there were no houses and buildings in the bullet\u2019s trajectory. The section chief said the decision was also made because there were not many people out in the early hours.<\/p>\n
Emergency shootings of bears and other potentially dangerous animals were previously banned in principle, but a new system allows municipalities to authorise the use of firearms against such animals in populated areas.<\/p>\n
This system was introduced in September after the Wildlife Protection, Control and Hunting Management Law was revised in response to a series of bear attacks in populated areas. The ministry has issued guidelines, including ensuring that no one is standing in the direction of the gunfire.<\/p>\n
Since September, emergency shootings have been authorised twice in Yamagata Prefecture.<\/p>\n
In Tsuruoka in the prefecture, an emergency shooting was authorised after a bear, which had been sleeping in the yard of a residence, woke up and approached members of a local hunting association. <\/p>\n
A police officer at the scene then fired a shot based on the Police Duties Execution Law, so an authorised emergency shooting was not carried out.<\/p>\n
In Yonezawa in the prefecture, a bear that was seen in a residential area entered a box trap shortly after an emergency shooting was authorised, so no shots were fired.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Fukushima City, a bear was seen in such places as a multi-story parking garage in a hot spring district from Oct 13 night to early on Oct 14 morning, but the city government did not authorise an emergency shooting. The bear later left the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we were not sure about the structure of the parking garage, we were concerned the bullet could ricochet and hurt someone,\u201d an official of the city government said. THE JAPAN NEWS\/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK<\/p>\n
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