HOKKAIDO, Jan 22 (News On Japan) - A new disposal system that uses microorganisms to break down culled bears is drawing attention in Hokkaido, as Japan faces a growing challenge not only in preventing bear attacks but also in handling the remains after animals are killed.
Bear sightings surged across the country in 2025, with human casualties reaching 230 nationwide, including two deaths in Hokkaido.
Fukushima, a town in southern Hokkaido where a newspaper delivery worker was fatally attacked by a bear in July 2025, has introduced a facility capable of processing culled bears and other animals using microbes, the only such system currently operating in Hokkaido.
The facility is designed to reduce the volume of animal carcasses by decomposing them almost completely. The process involves placing the animal in a tank, mixing in water and special chips coated with microorganisms, and raising the temperature to around 80 degrees Celsius. With microbial activity accelerated, the meat can be broken down in about one day, while bones and skin typically take around a week, with most of the material discharged as water and carbon dioxide.
In many areas, hunters are required to dismantle culled bears and deer themselves into pieces small enough to be incinerated at local facilities. But in southern Hokkaido, where wildlife-related crop damage has continued and requests for culling have increased, hunters have been spending significant time on dismantling work, slowing down their ability to capture more animals.
One local hunter said the work can be overwhelming, noting that they are sometimes asked to cut carcasses into pieces as small as 10 centimeters square.
Fukushima invested about 100 million yen in 2024 to introduce the system, becoming the first municipality in Hokkaido to adopt the technology. In southern Hokkaido, where the number of bears captured rose sharply in 2024 and incineration processing began to fall behind, the town says the new system proved effective by allowing bears to be handled more quickly.
Mayor Kiyoharu Narumi said Fukushima is currently managing the system, but hopes it can eventually be expanded and jointly managed by four towns in the region: Fukushima, Matsumae, Shiriuchi and Kikonai.
Local officials say they aim to prevent another tragic accident by strengthening resident safety through the use of advanced technology.
Source: HBCニュース 北海道放送
