By Gayne C. Young
Yet another sign that America is on the decline has come to pass as news comes that bear meat can now be purchased from vending machines in Japan.
Come on West Virginia.
Why didn’t you think of this first?
The vending machine can be found in Semboku in the Akita Prefecture of Japan. It was installed last year and sells bear meat for ¥2,200 ($16.50) per 250g. According to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, the meat comes from wild bears killed in the surrounding mountains by members of a local hunting club who took the animals during the annual hunting season. Both lean and fatty meat is sold out of the machine and sales have been brisk. This comes as no surprise as bear meat is popular in the area with locals purchasing it in several canned versions and even as an instant curry. The vending machine was placed in November after Soba Goro, a local restaurant, saw the need and the opportunity.
Someone who didn’t see the need is Nick Stewart, the wildlife campaign director at World Animal Protection. He told the Guardian, “This feels like another low blow for wildlife… Bears are of great significance to the wider ecosystem in which they live. If we protect them, then their habitat and the animals and plants within it also benefit. This is animal exploitation gone mad. Bears are wild animals, not a convenience food.”
Apparently to all the folks that buy it, bear is a convenience food.
Also a convenience food in Japan is whale meat, flying fish soup, live rhinoceros beetles, a head of lettuce, and about a hundred different flavors of Kit-Kat—all of which are available via vending machine as well.
But back to bears…
There are an estimated 10,000 Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus japonicus) on the island nation. The species can reach weights of 300 pounds and lengths of over 4 ½ feet. Larger specimens have been documented such as the one responsible for what is known as the Sankebetsu Incident. That bear stood over eight feet tall, weighed more than 600 pounds, and, in 1915, killed seven villagers before being killed by a hunter. Unfortunately, no one had yet to think of putting bear meat in a vending machine so that bear went uneaten by the masses.
Shame.
I bet it would have been a big seller.
