We've documented a lot of Japan's War on Bears over the years.
But lately, it seems like the bears are winning.
According to the AP, over 100 people have been mauled by bears over the last year in Japan, and the death toll has risen to 12. Meanwhile the bear population continues to grow with estimates over 54,000.
The growing bear population's encroachment into residential areas is happening in a region with a rapidly aging and declining human population, with few people trained to hunt the animals.
Which is why Japan has been forced to deploy its military to deal with the growing bear menace in the north.
However, the soldiers will have one major handicap in the war:
The soldiers will not use firearms to cull the bears.
That's right…the soldiers will not be able to bear arms.
Instead, they'll be carrying bear spray and nets, so you can imagine how that fight is going to go.
The biggest issue is that Japan's hunting laws are very strict when it comes to killing a bear. Only certain hunters have a gun license, and they are getting older and dying out.
The government set up a task force last week to create an official bear response by mid-November. Officials are considering bear population surveys, the use of communication devices to issue bear warnings and revisions to hunting rules.
Of course, the easiest solution to their bear problem would be to import a bunch of American hunters, hand them some guns and sake, and drop them in the forest for a couple of months.
The bear-meat vending machines will be full before you know it.
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