Akita (Japan), Nov 13 (EFE).- Police officers in Japan can now shoot brown bears with rifles in case of imminent danger, thanks to a regulation that came into force this Thursday amid a record wave of attacks by these animals against humans that has left thirteen dead.
Until now, the strict rules of the Japanese Police only allowed them to use high-caliber weapons in extreme cases. However, starting today, officers will be able to use shotguns against bears in what authorities have called “emergency hunts.”
One of the prefectures where police teams made up of snipers will be deployed is Akita, in the north of the archipelago, where a symbolic ceremony was scheduled to be held this Thursday to mark the start of operations.
Akita is one of the prefectures where the highest number of bear attacks have been recorded. Since last April, according to the Ministry of the Environment, at least thirteen people have died in 220 attacks recorded throughout the country.
It was in this same prefecture where the Japanese Government deployed members of the Self-Defense Forces (Army), although they are not authorized to shoot and their tasks are limited to setting traps and providing support.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday called the rise in bear attacks “a serious threat” and pledged to increase financial support to local governments that are combating the problem.
Concern about the attacks also raised an alert from the United States Embassy, which yesterday warned in a circular that incidents “have increased in some parts of Japan,” calling on its citizens to avoid areas where these animals have been sighted.
Bears are increasingly venturing further from their traditional habitats and into urban areas due to several factors, say authorities and experts.
A poor harvest of acorns, according to the Environment Ministry, warmer winters that delay hibernation or the depopulation of rural areas and the aging of the population are some of the possible causes of the growth of attacks. EFE
jdg-data/rt
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