I went to Miyajima again on the 13th of September, along with members of the volunteer group who are campaigning to help the deer. We spent about 3 hours on the island and fed deer at many locations, in and around the town. The deer are less in number now and are visibly thinner. They are desperately hungry and I could hear many deer whimpering at the sight of food. The photographs posted here are from that day and as you can see, some look very thin indeed and most of their coats are in poor condition.
The group visit Miyajima once a week to feed the deer, but despite this they don't feel this is enough to stop the deer from starving. They are encountering a lot of opposition from local people who often complain to officials when they visit the island. I was very impressed by the efforts this group make. In addition to feeding, they spend a lot of time picking up garbage, as the deer have recently resorted to eating plastic bags and paper in the absence of food.
The group are also very concerned about the treatment of deer from some local people. Although a few locals continue to feed deer in secret, others have been seen attacking deer. The group members have seen locals prodding deer with sticks and throwing stones at them (and on one occasion a broom) while tourists were trying to feed them. They have also heard reports about a local person breaking a deer's leg with a golf club. I saw one deer (pictured) with a damaged or broken leg. This deer is confined to the grounds of an abandoned building covered in trash, which they were trying to eat when we arrived.
The tourists on the island that day seemed very keen to pat the deer and have their photos taken with them but most seemed oblivious to their condition. Ironically, the tourist shops are still displaying and selling deer souvenirs. The deer are obviously still a big attraction for tourists and the local area has made a lot of money out of them.
The volunteer group have been in touch with various newspapers about the situation but unfortunately the newspapers don't have the courage to report this issue. In Japan, the relationship between reporters and government officials is very close, so the local press are very reluctant to talk about the abuse of animals, when the local government is implicated.
It's very frustrating for anyone who cares about animals to see this situation first hand and to realise that the general public aren't being informed about it.
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Thanks to the other poster who mentioned PETA. I had contacted them a while back but with no response. I contacted them again recently and they replied and told me they have contacted the mayor of the local government (Hatsukaichi city) and urged him to act. They have also posted an action alert about the problem.
I would urge anyone concerned about the issue to contact UNESCO to complain about Miyajima's status as a world heritage site and to add their name to the online petitions on the volunteer group's website:
wh-info@unesco.org (UNESCO world heritage committee email)
http://miyajimanosinjitu.web.fc2.com/ (volunteer group website)
