The Chiburishima Tanuki Overpopulation Crisis: What Should Be Done?

Chiburishima Tanuki Crisis
Remember our video post in December about the tanuki overpopulation problem on the tiny island of Chiburishima? Mainichi reports that residents will soon vote to decide the fate of the animals:

CHIBU, Shimane — A local government here will conduct a poll among residents on whether or not to expel raccoon dogs from the island as their population is nearly triple that of the humans.

The Chibu Municipal Government will survey about 590 adult residents on Chiburi Island in Shimane Prefecture on whether they are for or against getting rid of the raccoon dogs, or tanuki in Japanese.

Based on the results of the poll, which will be compiled by the end of March, the village will decide on a plan to deal with the raccoon dogs from next fiscal year.

The village’s move came after an animal rights group pointed out that some residents are against getting rid of the raccoon dogs.

What should be done about Chiburishima's tanuki overpopulation?

D-San

Ship em to China! Payback baby!

(jk)
cat

the answer is domestication! who wouldn’t want a pet raccoon dog?
http://www.hormel.com VonSkippy

It’s not rocket science, just shoot the varmints.
erGuiri

Mate with the tanuki. If you can’t beat them, join them.
majiimeaussie

Everywhere in Japan has its own local food / delicacy to draw in the tourists with their money to help the economy.

Tanuki burgers is the answer!!!
TofuUnion

Introduce tanuki-eating wolves to the island like they did in the US at the Yellowstone National Park ! Or run a tanuki steakhouse.
MK

Bring back tanuki soup.
Wes

Hire hunters to decimate them! Only way. Bringing other animals on the island would result in the same manner. If there are no higher enemies on the food chain, they’d multiply far too fast!
selma

Eat Tanuki’s and stop hunting the whales and dolphins already!
http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

The answer is so simple!

Taxidermy.

Market them as Hello Kitty’s new friend, and sell them at a premium price for a limited stock. They’ll be collectors items! Modern-age Beanie Babies, for god’s sake! We’ll be stinkin’ rich!
Android

Are they actually an inconvience to the islanders, then? I guess the thing I’d prefer to see happen is get them exported, but then again they’ll just breed to the same levels soon enough, I’d expect.

Perhaps they can use them to make actual wearable Super Mario Bros 3 Tanuki suits.

Although in the Tanuki were there first, I don’t see how humans have any right to force them off their land. That’s like aliens forcing us off our planet because they think we’re pests just because we’re lower lifeforms.

Ben

Actually, the humans were there first. Chibu is the only island in the Oki Islands (the group of islands off the coast of Shimane Prefecture) that has tanuki. A few were brought there about 60 or 70 years ago by the mayor (or received as a present), but they escaped and spread all over the island. Now they are like a mascot of Chibu, but also a nuisance to everyone’s gardens. (I live on Chibu, btw.)

hiru

this reminds me of one of ghibli’s animes called pom poko
Markus

Start a Pom Poko like war … that will get rid of the problem.
Unless you don’t have the balls …
david

We must stop the illegal slaughter of Tanukis by Japan! How could anyone want to kill such beautiful and intelligent animals? Lets send our own hunters to sabotage and document this barbaric practice.

The Overthinker

Can we get Hayden in a bikini?
schmitts

Australia should send the troops to Chiburishima right now! The Sea Shepherd ship is already making its way to the island, from the Antarctic.

blanks

Maybe Korea would take some interest in making a sort of dish fromt these animals. (Canine family)
Ray

Just set up traps and sell them to china for a food filler or McDonalds
buratto

In my opinion, the best option is to let hunters shoot tanukis, but also introduce hunting seasons, so that their population doesnt go too low either. Introducing tanuki eating bear is the worst possible option, since it would destroy the ecosystem, and then it would be the bears who are overpopulated. It’s the same situation as in the rabbit case in Australia. In fact, introducing any kind of new animal alien to a region’s ecosystem is gonna destroy the balance. Thus the tanukis cannot be shipped to mainland, since in a while the situation would become the same there. And how do you expect to catch around 1500 tanukis? Much easier to let the hunters shoot some of them. Moreover, if nothing is done, it wouldnt be any better, since you wouldnt want a few couples of thousands of tanuki dogs wandering around your town
Chris

Build a female tanuki robot, by painting some cardboard to look like a tanuki but with big long eyelashes that, will lure all the male tanuki in a tanuki-shaped crushing machine. Then make tanuki paste and spread it on toast.
http://www.crokittycats.com Micha

I suggest they send some to zoos over here in the US. I have never seen a live tanuki in person, and do now know of any zoos in the states that have them.

The Chiburishima Tanuki Overpopulation Crisis: What Should Be Done?

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