Ward in Tokyo to penalize feeding animals, birds other than pets

Saturday 20th September, 07:00 AM JST

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Latest 15 of 37 Total Comments Show All

getsy at 04:37 PM JST - 20th September

i think these stiffs should find a better crime to in force next there will be a penalty for feeding homeless people..
Betting at 05:25 PM JST - 20th September

As with many laws in Japan, it will be introduced and them conveniently forgotten by all and sundry.
Eizenhauer at 06:11 PM JST - 20th September

What about all the damn sound trucks blaring their sales pitches, political apologies, and nationalist propaganda from 7 am-10pm everyday? No fines for them?

Awesome point WaDisruptor, this sort of noise can drive people crazy, specially when they work graveyard shifts and need their day sleep... But, Japanese people aren't complaining to this, so we gaijins can only keep our mouth shut and quietly suffer if we can't stand it...
Sarge at 06:35 PM JST - 20th September

Cleo - I guess the crows in your neighborhood don't squawk right outside your window at 5am on weekends. You must have them trained well. Do you think you could come to Tokyo to train our crows? I'm serious. Well, not really, I know you don't want to come to Tokyo.
nisegaijin at 07:03 PM JST - 20th September

Good! Finally. I can't stand pigeons flying around crapping everyowhere and then seeing some moron kid or old timer givng his food to them. It also breaks natural balance as birds supposed feed of insects and such, but not from humans. Very good call, and I hope other cities, especially Kyoto will follow.
MichaelJP at 07:07 PM JST - 20th September

Export the crows to China. They're a safer source of nutrition than milk and dumplings.
WaDisruptor at 08:37 PM JST - 20th September

Do they taste like chicken?
cleo at 09:32 PM JST - 20th September

Sarge, I've no idea if the crows squawk outside the window at 5am - I'm dead to the world at that time, and nothing wakes me! Probably training people is easier than training crows. Same with the Tokyo crows - train the people to put proper fitting lids on their dustbins before you complain about the birds.

(Is there a difference between crows and ravens? They're both からす in Japanese, but somehow 'raven' sounds more noble - like the ravens in the Tower of London that get a salary of raw meat from the city. Maybe Tokyo could start giving its crows/ravens a salary, and get them all to gather around Tokyo Tower as a tourist attraction.
presto345 at 12:18 AM JST - 21st September

People in large cities do not socialize. They are lonely. After retiring from their 9 to 5 plus overtime jobs for 40 years they don't know how to relate to other humans outside the work sphere they were used to. Making friends with animals is easier as the latter don't ask any questions and want just food. In return they just appear regularly and say 'meow' or something like that, according to the species. Problems appear when they, the animals, start fouling up the streets and making noise which keeps people who work at night from getting sleep. Not all appartments are fully air conditioned and sound proofed. Cities are built to house people in an environment of concrete, glass and asphalt these days. There is no space or place for animals, except ourselves. I know of a city here in Japan where feeding the pigeons was common practice and a pastime for tourists and families in parks. The result was that pigeon populations increased out of proportion and they fouled buildings all over in addition to the noise they created. Their breeding also invited predators, mostly crows, who added to the noise and pollution. The city finally prohibited this bird feeding and the pigeon population as well as the crow population has come down. The benefits being clear. What, you say? Clean balconies, roofs, walls of your housing. You wish the company, sound of animal life? Move to the empty country side Japan has an abundance of, where life is much easier than in the metropolises. Having a bird feed platform? Great idea. Just know what you are feeding and when. And keep up with it, because birds begin to depend on it. You quit, they die. Remember, downtown Tokyo is not rural Kanagawa, Surrey, Normandy, or where ever. You can't manipulate nature, and if you are trying to, you will run into resistance. Feeding stray animals, which are really pests, should, of course, be prohibited.
cwhite at 12:55 AM JST - 21st September

There are better ways to combat crow problems at a scientific level (not exterminating them) utilizing their complex language of squawks and telling them to head for the mountains.

Not sure how this all relates to the "other" animals. Yeah, you can get rid of all the pigeons from Yamashita Park, but cats seem to live quite well with humans. If you don't like cats in your garden there are also plenty of ways to have them bypass your stomping grounds.

Stocking garbage on properties should be a completely different law and something along the lines of seizing the property or jailing the accused. Same should go to the idiots who don't know how to put garbage out properly.

Most people would welcome a squirrel, hedgehog, rabbit, frog, occasional tanuki, bird, etc in the garden, but when it's a noisy semi, crow, cat, rat, mole, bee, woodpecker they scream to get rid of the pests. Humans are just so selfish.

All of these supposed big problems have methods to deal with it and all it takes is a little education and perhaps some money to neuter cats.
Nessie at 09:30 AM JST - 21st September

People in large cities do not socialize. They are lonely. After retiring from their 9 to 5 plus overtime jobs for 40 years they don't know how to relate to other humans outside the work sphere they were used to. Making friends with animals is easier

Most of the feeders in my city are older women, so they don't really fit the profile you seem to paint.
Sammi33 at 01:51 PM JST - 21st September

Most people in Japan don't seem to view semi as pests, even though there are too many of them and they ARE loud, they just go "oh, it's the sound of summer"... anyway, I wish this law would get passed in Honolulu! When I was living there there were always some nasty old people feeding the pidgeons and so there were huge flocks of them EVERYWHERE, incl. the tables at outdoor dinings, etc.
stipend at 01:54 PM JST - 21st September

Basically, if anyone cares about strays they won’t feed them. Socialize the animals, become friends and it’s more easy to catch and treat them when needed -but don’t feed them.

Fixing and neuter is key. And doing just a few in an area is all that’s needed. Less fighting, fewer injuries, the cats become less transient, more likely to stay content in one area.

It’s a shame most people in this country just don’t see the problem. Even with vets here it’s difficult to get on the same wavelength. So where is the SPCA in Japan anyway?

These are two groups I’ve worked with and recommend:

http://www.arkbark.net/

http://nekodasuke.main.jp/

For crows, put a realistically painted plastic owl decoy on a high perch. Works for pigeons too but unfortunately the shop near me sold out of the last one ages ago.
OgieDoggie at 02:05 PM JST - 21st September

As for the crow problem a 12 gauge shotgun usually works. For the stay cats and dogs...where is the SPCA...they catch these guys and clean them up and find homes for them.
stipend at 07:26 PM JST - 21st September

SPCA...they catch these guys and clean them up and find homes for them

Point is: No SPCA in Japan (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), and nothing here that even resembles it. ARK, noted above is the exception. It's exceptional. Still, it's local, a model. (I'm trying to stay of topic but their newsletters will tell you the real story of animal welfare here)

In Japan we have the hokkensho, a department of the municipal office to deal with animals. Municipal employees. You get what you get. Not necessarily there 'cause they care about animals, their purview also includes restaurant compliance after all. No surprises then if they give up on finding a dog they darted at the river one Friday afternoon, leaving the injured animal to suffer and fend for itself. They're busy!

Adopting from the hokkensho? It is possible but my god what a dreary place. And don't expect to be welcomed. They are in the killing business. Hundreds of thousands of cats, over a hundred thousand dogs each and every year nationally.

Hiroshima solved their pigeon problem at the Peace Park with a similar bylaw as that in the article above. It's good. It'll work. People in the area obviously care otherwise it would not have come about.