The Mary T. and
Frank L. Hoffman
Family Foundation
and

All-Creatures.Org

Letters and Responses

Letter from Joseph P. Tris Concerning Nagaro Snow Monkeys - 31 Jan 2005

To whom it may concern,

I am an English teacher in Japan. I thought the following may be of interest to your organization.

The world famous Nagano snow monkeys (macaca fascata) are in danger. The town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, recently received permission to extermiate about 30 "problem" monkeys. Supposedly, some of the monkeys are a danger to the local citizens. Aside from the fact that there is little evidence to support this logic, the way that the town is implementing the policy is clearly flawed. First, they are hastily exterminating the monkeys, with very little time spent determining which monkeys are peaceful and which are problematic. Second, they are using shotguns to kill the problem monkeys, a method which risks injuring other monkeys that may be nearby the target at the time of the killing.

I would really appreciate if you could post this information to their website. Anyone concerned about this should call or e-mail their local Japanese embassy or consulate and make a complain. It may also be a good idea to contact any Japanese tourism organizations on this matter. People must explain that they would not visit or spend their money in an area which endorses such a cruel and reckless policy. The potential loss of tourism revenue may be the only thing that will bring this to heel. Also, "losing face" is avoided like the plague in Japanese culture. As rude as it sounds, embarassing this town government by drawing attention to their actions would be a very effective tactic.

In addition, people may want to call/write various Japanese offices directly. E-mails written in English are acceptable:

1. Japanese Ministry of Environment/Nagano Prefecture
Tel: 052-229-8191
TEL: 0263-94-2024
FAX: 0263-94-2651
E-Mail: [email protected] 
[email protected] 

2. Governor Tanaka of Nagano Prefecture
[email protected] 

3. Agricultural and Environmental Office of Naganoken
TEL:026-235-7261
FAX:026-233-4032
mail:[email protected] 

4. Nagano Prefectural Office
TEL:026-235-7110
FAX:026-235-6232
[email protected] 

5. Karuizawa Town Hall/ Co. Mayor Sato
TEL: 0267-45-8111
FAX: 0267-46-3165
[email protected] 

Sincerely,

Joseph P. Tris
Saga Prefecture, Japan

Reply from Frank and Mary

Dear Joseph:

Thank you very much for sending this information to us. We'll post it immediately to our animal rights email lists, and publish it on our web site as soon as we can.

In the Love of the Lord,

Frank and Mary

We welcome your comments

(d-2)


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