Miyajima (or Itsukushima) is an island very close to Hiroshima city in Japan. It is a very famous tourist location in Japan and It's name literally means "shrine island". Miyajima is a UNESCO world heritage site and designated one of the top three scenic places in Japan. The famous shrine on the island, Itsukushima Jinja, is considered one of the holiest places in Japan.
There have been deer on the island for years and they were originally seen as divine creatures and were thought of as messengers from the gods of the shrine. During the second world war, because of food shortages, residents were forced to eat deer. At this time the deer population therefore declined but after the war it was decided to import more deer from Nara city to boost the population and increase breeding. Since then the population has grown and the deer have become almost as famous as the shrine itself.
When I visited last year, it was easy to buy food for for the deer at various places in the town. The deer were very tame and ate food from my hand. Many people visit the island, especially to see the deer and in the multitude of tourist shops, many deer souvenirs are still available.
However, recently, due to complains by residents, the local government decided to stop the sale of deer food on the island and to instruct visitors not to feed them. There are now signs all round the town warning of the supposed dangers of feeding deer. They have also claimed they want the deer to return to the wild. However, there isn't much grass on the island and the deer are still wandering around the town looking for food. Unlike other deer parks in other countries, there doesn't seem to be anyone responsible for managing the deer.
I recently became aware of this issue from a local volunteer group who in turn found out about it from a letter in a newspaper from a tourist. This person was shocked at the sight of weak and dying deer on the famous island. The group investigated the claims and found the deer on the island to be emaciated and ill. Their coats were in terrible condition (see profile picture) and they were desperate for food. They also saw dead deer on the beach.
There are many places in other countries which have faced similar problems with growing deer populations. Some people have advocated sterilization of deer and feeding programs located away from residential areas. Others have "culled" deer. In Miyajima the current approach seems to be to let the deer starve to death.
If you search for "Miyajima" and "deer" on the internet you may find information like "The deer are protected as divine messengers of Istukushima" shrine". This no longer seems to be true.
6 comments:
Great post.
I just visiting Miyajima Island three days ago and was also shocked by the state of the deer population there.
I hope that something will be done soon. I went to PETA`s site and sent an email letting them know about the situation. I encourage you to do the same, although I am unsure that good will come of it. Hopefully some good will result from it. They seem to take action very quickly in getting the word out.
I think that if more people knew about the situation, the island will be forced to change their ways.
Thanks, again, for the great post. Your profile picture will prove very effective, if we can get it in the hands of people who can jumpstart this movement for the deer of Miyajima.
-Linda Ramsey
Austin, TX
i saw this on the Peta site and i emailed the japan embassy in the UK and the email address on the peta action alert.
Hats off to you for helping the deer, lets hope many people find out and they start to help them.
Peta have taken up this campaign.
Everyone please go to the PETA website and through them you can send an email to the Japanese government. Thanks
It is so easy to criticize others in the blogsphere, especially the matters in a foerign country that you don't read/speak the language. The question I have is what knowledge/info. you have or try to find out re: the deer management program on Miyajima by the city.
Before you write up anything critical, I expect you to read these meeting minutes and established Guidelines. If you don't read Japanese, use an online translator. The deer management program is a continuing project involving resident meetings, researches, professional wild life consultations, and trial & error program implementations, etc. in order to co-inhabit the island by the deer, residents & the tourists. Also, they are trying to send them back to the wild life habitat in stead of begging food from the tourists.
What you can do as a tourist is to stop feeding the deer with unhealthy human foods and completely remove any food trashes. Many are dead/sick from eating plastics.
http://www.city.hatsukaichi.hiroshima.jp/sumai_machi/machizukuri/files_deer/02_shikataisakukyougikai20080620.pdf
http://www.city.hatsukaichi.hiroshima.jp/sumai_machi/machizukuri/documents/miyajima_deer_guidelines.pdf
If you can help the city, write to them direct.
So, it's May, 2009. Do you have an update on the situation? I just visited Nara last week, and I disliked how the deer are treated as an attraction. They look so dejected. It's not natural for a deer to just sit there and let children climb all over it.
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