Tag - animal

 
 

ANIMAL

A staff member attends to a dog at a day care center for pets operated by Peace Winds Japan in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2024
Nonprofit group provides vital pet care in quake-hit Ishikawa
Peace Winds Japan, based in Hiroshima, has been assisting with pet care in disaster-hit areas since the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake.
Deer that are kept in a fenced-off area in the city of Nara
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2024
Nara Prefecture to expand area for culling iconic deer
The prefectural panel will discuss culling methods and other details to draw up a new protection program in fiscal 2025.
Wildlife researcher Amelia Hiorns says Japan's bears feel the pressure of human presence and have learned that encountering us is not worth their time.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 30, 2024
Amelia Hiorns: 'Guiding and introducing people to Japan's nature has been rewarding'
Wildlife researcher Amelia Hiorns shares how separate interests in Japan and in bears culminated in conservation work in the mountains of Nagano.
 A cow is prepared for slaughter at a facility in Corbas, France.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2024
Does religious freedom trump animal welfare?
The European Court of Human Rights found that protecting the welfare of animals is part of the legitimate government objective of protecting public morals.
Inspections by authorities found that puppies and kittens have been traded at younger ages than permitted by law, apparently because younger animals sell better.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 16, 2024
Birth date falsifications suspected for puppies auctioned in Japan
The Environment Ministry believes breeders altered dates of birth in order to put puppies and kittens up for auction even though they were too young.
Naoko Motooka began hunting 10 years ago. Her hobby is one way Hokkaido hopes to curb a current boom in the deer population.
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 15, 2024
Hunting in Hokkaido; Taylor Swift comes to Tokyo
You probably don’t think of guns when you think of Japan, but Hokkaido’s hunters do.
Star Flyer began allowing owners to bring certain pets into cabins on some routes in 2022.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Haneda plane collision prompts discussion about pets on flights
Most domestic airlines ban the carrying of pets in airplane cabins, out of consideration for those with allergies.
A Bengal Tiger pauses in a jungle clearing a Kaziranga National Park, some 280 kilometers east of Guwahati in 2014. Tigers in India have been photographed in high-altitude mountains rarely seen before, with experts suggesting relentless human pressure and a heating climate are driving them from traditional hunting grounds.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Feb 8, 2024
India's tigers adapt to higher ground as temperatures soar and human pressure builds
The animals are venturing into higher mountainous terrain, signifying increased pressure on their habitats.
Ellie Harrell launched her dog seitai practice in late 2023 after seeing first hand how the therapy helped her own injured dog.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 27, 2024
‘My job is to provide dogs with relief from even the smallest amount of pain’
Does your dog need a back adjustment? Ellie Harrell’s salon is waiting to provide treatment.
Animal rights activists hold placards reading "Good bye dog meat!" during a rally welcoming a bill banning the dog meat trade, at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 9, 2024
South Korea parliament passes bill banning dog meat trade
Lawmakers voted 208-0, and the legislation will come into effect after a three-year grace period and final approval from President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Tomoyoshi Taniguchi (left), Ryuko Neya (center) and Taiko Minami with pets at the Misogichiku Community Center in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture. Pet owners were told they could not enter the shelter room and had to stay in hallways and the entrance hall.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 4, 2024
In Ishikawa, shelter for people but not four-legged friends
One pet owner's experience in quake-hit Ishikawa highlights the many challenges facing such people in times of disaster, and is a recurring issue.
As many as 31 squirrels at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Tokyo are believed to have been accidentally killed with anti-parasitic medicine this month.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2023
Tokyo zoo probes suspected mass squirrel poisoning after 31 die
Keepers at the zoo injected the animals with anti-parasitic medicine earlier this month as part of a sanitary precaution.
Lee Kyeong-sig, who runs a dog meat farm, feeds dogs in cages in Hwaseong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 27, 2023
South Korea's canine farmers protest proposed ban on dog meat
Despite its declining popularity and opposition from animal rights activists, previous attempts to ban dog meat have failed because of industry protests.
Workers prepare to cull chickens at a farm in Kashima, Saga Prefecture, on Saturday after a case of bird flu was detected there.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 25, 2023
Japan confirms season's first bird flu case in Saga
The Saga Prefectural Government has started to cull around 40,000 chickens raised at a farm in the city of Kashima.
Yasuhiro Matsuzaki provides space for hens to roam freely, in consideration of the birds' welfare, at his farm in Ishioka, Ibaraki Prefecture.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2023
Japan lagging world in introducing livestock welfare standards
Some question the value of engaging in a moral discussion about the living conditions of livestock animals that are ultimately bound for the dinner plate.
If you've ever dined on fresh fish, either within Japan or anywhere else in the world, there's a healthy chance it was processed via ikejime, a Japanese technique for preserving freshness in line-caught fish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 30, 2023
How the world got hooked on ikejime-caught fish
Roughly rendered in English as “locking in life,” this technique delivers a quick death to ensure freshness.
Riders dressed as samurai participate in an annual Soma Nomaoi festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 30. Two horses died from heatstroke in the event.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2023
Scores of horses suffer sunstroke at samurai festival
Organizers may move the annual event — featuring over 400 participants dressed as samurai on horseback — to a cooler time of year.
Chihiro Okada (right), a representative of Animal Rights Center, during a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government building on July 10
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Aug 7, 2023
Confrontations deepen over duck-catching event in Okinawa
Animal rights groups say the event constitutes animal abuse.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 22, 2023
In Quebec, seal hunters want public to see practice in new light
Hunters hope to rehabilitate the image of the hunt, with the support of fishers who are worried about dwindling fish stocks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023
The coming disruption of animal food production is almost here
It will be easier to persuade people to avoid meat from animals if they can eat meat and other animal products that taste like those they know but do not require raising animals.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on