[Kunihiko Hisa's Manga Anything Theater (Special Edition)] How to Get Along with Animals

2021/09/13

There has been a succession of news reports that make us think about how humans and animals should coexist. The biggest uproar is likely the COVID-19 pandemic, where a virus originating from bats is thought to have thrown human society into a panic. It was reported even more sensationally with suggestions that bats or pangolins carrying the virus might have been sold in markets as food.

In Japan, there are frequent reports of Asiatic black bears and brown bears appearing in towns and being shot, or of crop damage caused by deer and monkeys. Additionally, there are commotions over escaped giant pythons or iguanas kept as pets, the breeding of invasive species like turtles and crayfish, and reports on the proliferation of Formosan squirrels, raccoons, and Reeves' muntjac. The corruption scandal that forced the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to resign was allegedly due to bribes from an egg producer, but the background of that case involves the international animal welfare movement. It is said that the producer wanted the government to go easy on pressure from overseas, which argues that even livestock should not be made to suffer unnecessarily and that high-density rearing like that of broilers should be prohibited.

From wild animals to livestock, pets, zoo animals, laboratory animals in medical institutions and the cosmetics industry, and the vast amount of fish used as food for many years—what kind of rules should we follow when interacting with these living creatures? Is it possible to establish a basic way of thinking common to all humanity? I believe there are significant differences depending on the region, ethnicity, and religion. Keeping that in mind, I would like to give it a little thought.

To begin with, humans were also members of the wild animal kingdom. We ate anything—animals, fruits, fish, and shellfish—and were careful not to be eaten by predators. We used animals like elephants, rhinos, cows, and horses not only for food but also utilized their fur and bones to survive. Eventually, instead of just struggling to hunt with spears and bows, we began to breed and raise them under our own management, gaining stable access to meat, milk, and hides. Furthermore, by crossing animals with traits such as being docile, having long hair, or being easy to fatten, we gained the means of selective breeding and began to control animals. Naturally, in that process, value judgments were assigned, such as which animals were useful to humans and which were harmful.

Animals like sheep, goats, and cattle provided everything from meat to hides and milk; others like cattle, horses, and donkeys were useful not only for meat and hides but also as draft animals. By utilizing them, humanity increased its population, obtained the power to transport large logs and stones, and built civilizations. Even in parts of the world where large civilizations did not emerge, wild animals sustained human life—such as the buffalo for the Great Plains Indians (Native Americans) of North America, the kangaroo for the Australian Aborigines, and elephants in the interior of the African continent. On oceanic islands, shellfish, fish, dolphins, and whales were also the mainstays of life.

Throughout such history, a culture of thinking deeply about the lives of wild animals and livestock did not actually develop. It is a movement that has arisen since the 20th century among people who noticed that some wild animals were on the verge of extinction. Regarding non-wild animals, the value of life has come into question for not only livestock but also pets like dogs and cats, laboratory animals, and animals kept in zoos.

One representative animal protection movement is the whale protection movement calling for a ban on Japanese whaling. NGO activities are sustained by funding. they collect donations by publicizing bloody footage of dolphin hunts in Taiji or their own radical activities to block whaling. While there are explanations regarding differences in food culture, many Japanese people would likely find cultures that eat dogs and cats distasteful. What about the bats that became an issue this time?

The movement calling for a ban on the ivory trade in Japan is also active. While demand for items like seals and chopsticks has decreased, the conflict with traditional culture, such as netsuke and shamisen plectrums, is thought-provoking. However, even now, the poaching of elephants for ivory never ceases. In China, there is not only a demand for ivory but also immense popularity for rhino horns as traditional medicine. Rhinos are almost on the brink of extinction. As their numbers decrease, the price of rhino horns rises, making them even more of a target. In France, a horn was even stolen from a stuffed rhino on display in a museum. The pelts of leopards and tigers are also targeted. While global anti-fur movements have been successful and poaching for fur has decreased, the farming of mink and marten for fur continues. Whether the lives of domesticated animals matter once the poaching of wild animals stops has also become an issue. Amidst such trends, international rules are being established to protect the comfortable living environment of livestock and to ensure they do not suffer during slaughter.

The existence of animals kept in zoos has also been targeted. Driven by voices saying it is pitiful to lock them in cages for life and questioning the need to make them a spectacle, circuses and dolphin shows are being forced into abolition in the West.

Conservation activities only began when wild elephants and rhinos decreased, but now the movement is based on the idea that animals are "pitiful." Zoos have begun to fiercely appeal their necessity, staking their very existence on it. They emphasize the role of zoos as stockyards for the survival of endangered species, where animals are treated with care in environments far more privileged than the wild and are bred. Above all, they argue they play a role in helping people understand the natural environment that has nurtured such diverse animals. The fate of animals used in animal testing is even harsher. They are intentionally given fractures, given cancer, or smeared with cosmetics. This is used to check if substances are harmful to humans or to test new drugs. A conflict between the voices saying it is pitiful and those saying it is for the happiness of humanity is occurring here as well.

The animal welfare movement that began in the 20th century is now turning into a major movement to protect the Earth's ecosystem. In the oceans, which have supplied an inexhaustible amount of fish, overfishing by countries that do not follow rules has become a major problem. With fish finders and GPS, one could say they never face a poor catch. Plastic waste flowing into those oceans has also become a major recent theme. Including the issue of global warming, we have entered an era where we must think about the Earth on a large scale. This is because the impact of human activity is that significant. While the contact with wild animals became an issue triggered by the COVID-19 uproar, I hope that the Japanese archipelago can also establish gentle rules for coexisting with monkeys, bears, and deer.