The Japan Times reports on how a deer overpopulation problem in Hokkaido is causing locals to start deer meat businesses:

“It is said that carbon dioxide emissions should be cut and electric power should not be used in wasteful manner. By eating the deer, we can preserve forests and conserve the environment,” he said.

Yezo deer meat is also being served in school lunches at elementary and junior high schools. “The meat provides subject material for teaching about food and the environment,” Sogabe said.

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“At Yellowstone National Park in the United States, wolves have been introduced, but in Japan it is difficult to secure a consensus among residents. The cost of the annual cull is too high and it does not go smoothly. The only way is to raise the value of deer meat and to adjust their numbers by eating it,” said Hiroyuki Ida, secretary general of the Yezo Deer Association of Sapporo.

The number of Sapporo restaurants that have added Yezo deer meat to their menus has increased dramatically in the last two years. But Ida said, “Of the some 70,000 deer culled annually, less than 10,000 are used for meat. There is still a long way to go.”