Man held over shooting death of fellow hunter during monkey cull

Sunday 23rd August, 11:15 PM JST

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cleo at 03:56 PM JST - 24th August

just where does it stop?

When all the intrepid hunters have shot each other?
dontpanic at 04:30 PM JST - 24th August

Taka313 - "I'd capture them. Take the tamer of the captured monkeys to train as handicapped helper animals and the rest would be relocated to more remote areas"

So you'd enslave the good ones and pack the others off for a slow starvation somewhere out of sight? The monkey population in these areas becomes a problem because food is easy to come by. Culling may well be the most humane way to manage them. Only if its done properly of course.
Sarge at 10:58 PM JST - 24th August

dontpanic: "So you ( Taka313 )'d enslave the good ones and pack the others off for a slow starvation somewhere out of sight?"

Heck, those monkeys that Taka313 would relocate to more remote areas would re-relocate themselves back to the populated areas faster than you can say "I'll be a monkey's uncle!"

Still think "a cull of monkeys" would be an excellent name for a rock band.
Cicada at 11:06 PM JST - 24th August

Maeda told investigators that he shot Murakoshi after mistaking him for a monkey. At the time, Murakoshi was rushing to join other members of the group on hearing that monkeys had been sighted, police said.

Little did they know that the monkeys were executing a plan...
mnemosyne23 at 12:05 AM JST - 25th August

Culling of an animal population is an accepted and necessary practice which, when done properly, improves the lives and safety not only of humans but of the animals in question. In my home state of NH in the USA, the moose and deer population would skyrocket to unsustainable levels if not for regulated hunting. Moose hunting in particular is permitted only through a lottery system, with a certain number of lottery slots available each year dependant on the moose population (I believe last year it was around 350 moose hunting permits). Hunting without a license or beyond the legal limit is considered poaching and is punishable by law.

For the same reason that proper thinning of a forest is a justified and necessary way to prevent and lessen the impact of forest fires, culling an animal population IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW is acceptable and much healthier for the animal and its surroundings. If the population is allowed to grow to the point that Mother Nature moves in to "cull the herd" naturally -- be it through disease, starvation, or some other effect of overcrowding -- the health and safety effects to humans and the ecosystem would be at best a nuisance and at worst devastating. I'm not for the wholesale slaughter of wild animals in their natural habitat, but I understand that regulated hunting has its place.

If someone cannot tell the difference between a man and a monkey at 30 metres by size, then an orange cap would probably not have made much difference.

I didn't read anything in this article that claimed the shooter could perceive the size of his target. He may have heard a rustle, seen a movement in the bushes, aimed and fired. 30 meters is almost 1/3rd an American football field. Trying to see that far through vegetation early in the morning when you're already pre-wired to expect monkeys is inviting tragedy. The hunter should have been wearing an identifying color, like a bright orange vest or cap. If he was, then this is an even more tragic accident. And I believe that's all it was -- a very tragic accident, but nothing unexpected during an average hunting season anywhere around the globe.
Taka313 at 01:20 AM JST - 25th August

Only if its done properly of course.

I like your argument: Your idea is dumb, my idea is smart...with the following critera that weren't met and not even considered.

Well...I'm pretty sure getting the culling hunters killed does not qualify as "done properly" and it also indicates that the "cull" was just mass slaughter and not a proper cull. Also, I'm having a hard time with your idea that taking the most docile somehow hurts to pack. The most docile probably wouldn't have an opportunity to mate anyway.

SocietyMike,

I have to disagree about their usefulness based on this:

http://www.monkeyhelpers.org/

Taka
dontpanic at 02:28 AM JST - 25th August

Taka313 - "I like your argument: Your idea is dumb, my idea is smart..."

I didnt say your idea is dumb, I implied its inhumane to enslave some of the monkeys to do your bidding and to pack the remainder off out of sight to die slowly. Illconceived and dumb are very different.

A professional cull could have managed the excess population with as little suffering as possible. Unfortunately the cull the authorities organised didnt turn out to be very professional.
Taka313 at 03:40 AM JST - 25th August

Don'tPanic,

Whether it's inhumane to train the animals to assist the handicapped is debatable. Also, I fail to see how relocating animals to a more remote area is a death sentence. The problem is that these little guys can be vicious in their attempts to steal food. My wife stayed at a B&B north of Nikko where the owners had to nail the windows shut because if their guests opened them, monkeys would get in the house and destroy the place.

I'm not saying relocate them to a landfill or even Saitama (thank you, I'll be here all week), I'm saying lets separate them from the people. There are plenty of remote mountain areas where they will be among other monkeys and away from humans. I just don't see where relocation equals death. Relocation programs exist in a lot of places. Where I'm from in Minn., bear are relocated to reserves if they get into town and are captured. I've seen the same done for deer, tigers, alligators, and host of animals. Hell, that was the purpose of "Mutual of Omaha's, Wild Kingdom" wasn't it?

Taka
Taka313 at 03:42 AM JST - 25th August

SHOOT! I hit the submit bar too soon again! We are in 100% agreement about the authorities not being too professional. I remember a couple of years ago watching one of these monkey culls on TV. They tried an old fashioned "deer drive" and instead of driving out monkeys, they flushed 3 wild boars. The "professional hunter" tried to take a few shots while running backwards and falling down at the same time. These were "professionals" that were brought in by the local govt. For the people's sakes, let along the monkeys, I think relocation is a better option.

Peace,

Taka
dontpanic at 03:56 PM JST - 25th August

Taka313 it's inhumane to take wild monkeys from their habitat and families and then to break them for training. If that were even possible with a wild monkey.

As for the shifting them proposal, you have to capture them, make them docile, shift them and then release them into a suitable habitat, which in Japan is usually already populated. Most suitable areas already haveh relatively stable populations of monkeys too. Shifting groups from one place to another would cause pressure on existing food supplies or more likely start a territorial war with another nearby troop of monkeys.
dontpanic at 03:57 PM JST - 25th August

But we do agree the so called professionals werent.
OssanAmerica at 03:55 AM JST - 26th August

There doesn't seem to have been much selectivity involved in >this 'cull'.

Wrong Cleo, the numbers to be culled and possibly even the sex and age group would undoubtedly have been set. That is the "selectivity" the definition is talking about. It's also in horribly bad taste to turn what is clearly a tragic accident into a twisted definition of "selective" for the purposes of singing the usual anti-hunting, anti-gun, anti-human rant.
revilo at 04:30 PM JST - 27th August

nobody seems to have mentioned 'neutering' as one way to keep the monkey population under control. culling doesn't solve the problem nor does re-location. Monkeys are very territorial and group-minded.
OssanAmerica at 08:06 AM JST - 28th August

nobody seems to have mentioned 'neutering' as one way to keep the monkey >population under control

Until someone invents a neutering product can be consumed when hidden in bait, each animal would have to captured and neutered individually, a very time and resource consuming operation that would be too costly.
WaimanaloBlues at 11:10 AM JST - 29th August

Culling may offend some but is at times the only option. On Oahu, they tried catch and release of feral cats to remote areas, tried the catch/neuter and release in other areas all to find that you can't catch them all and they reproduce quicker than you can count. The feral cat population was infecting domestic pets, killing native species and generally becoming a complete nuisance. When it becomes a health hazard to your kids and neighborhood, even the SPCA and Humane Society agree culling is required.