One of the black bears from North Korea set free in the Mount Jiri National Park died after being caught in a trap left by a local resident. The man, a farmer, set up a hunting trap to catch the wild boars that had been wrecking havoc at his chestnut farm, but the result was that he killed a rare species of bear the government spent millions on in an effort to repopulate them. He should be prosecuted for illegally setting the trap, but in the meantime there needs to be more detailed measures for promoting life together for humans and nature.
There are only ten black bears in South Korea, and they are an endangered species of the first order. The Ministry of the Environment has a program underway to repopulate them, giving them the top priority over other species. Last year it released at Mount Jiri six from the Russian Far East with the same genetic characteristics and eight from North Korea. It was expected that there would be a clash between animals and humans in the course of protecting nature with among other things programs to replenish endangered plant and animal species. Once a black bear even took a hiker's hat and bag. There are more wild boars, magpies, elk, and other wild animals now, and last year the damage to crops has been calculated at over W20 billion.
That does not mean that protecting nature and restoring the ecosystem should be neglected. We have to advance to the stage where humans and nature live together. It would be worth looking at the examples of Japan and American national parks, where people farm while bears catch fish in streams. When animal populations increase excessively they can be kept under control with things like hunting, and there needs to be compensation guidelines for when crops are damaged. The country needs a policy that is concrete yet looks at the long-term.
The Hankyoreh, 17 August 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] People and Wild Animals Must Live Together |
