We Know The Cat Islands In Japan
On the coast of Japan there are islands with many more feline than human inhabitants: they are the so-called cat islands, very important tourist destinations, but not as happy as they seem. Today we will tell you about Aoshima and Tashirojima, two of the cat islands in Japan.
Where are cat islands located in Japan?
Aoshima is one of Japan’s best-known cat islands. About 15 people live here, but there are more than 100 felines. It is located in the prefecture of Ehime, in the south of the country.
Another of the cat islands is Tashirojima, which hosts around 10,000 visitors a year. It is located in Miyagi prefecture in the east and much closer to the coast than Aoshima.
In both cases it is necessary to travel by boat from the main island of the country. The routes depend on many factors, but both are reached in half an hour. The timetables vary according to the ports and the influx of tourists, but are limited to two trips a day.
Why do so many cats live there?
What attracts people are the many cats that live on these islands. In the case of Aoshima, it is estimated that there are 6 felines for each inhabitant. These animals depend on people to feed themselves, as there are not enough prey to hunt. They are also very docile and friendly, interacting with people.
They are used to the presence of strangers on the island. They pose for photos and accept food from tourists, so they are not ordinary stray cats.
However, in these islands there is a great dilemma to be solved: the presence of tourists who feed the cats, has allowed their population to grow out of control. However, visitors do not leave any cash donations, and there are no people looking after these felines either.
How to take care of the cats that live on the islands?
Many cats living on these islands are affected by common and easily treatable diseases. The most frequent are eye infections, wounds, skin problems, etc.
Furthermore, no one takes care of sterilizing them, as they increase from year to year.
For a few years, groups of volunteers who do not reside on these islands have been moving to take care of these animals, and are trying to start a campaign similar to the CES project existing in Spain (Capture, Sterilization, Release). Despite the best efforts, there are not enough funds to care for all the cats that live in these places.
To answer the question of how to improve the quality of life of these felines, one of the visitors to these islands said in an interview:
The impact of tourism
In fact, in these islands the presence of foreigners who bring food has allowed the population of cats to grow until they become a tourist attraction. The more people visit the island, the more food the cats have available, while continuing to reproduce.
The presence of people on the islands does not ensure the health of these animals, nor the health control of the places where they live without being visited. It is a vicious circle in which, if tourism ceases to exist, cats will stop eating, but if this is not controlled, they will continue to multiply.
Aoshima and Tashirojima are not the only places where this happens: more than a dozen islands have been counted in the same situation as these in Japan. In some tourist destinations the population of monkeys and seagulls, for example, grows uncontrollably thanks to the abundance of food.
Travelers who visit these places need to be aware of the impact they have anywhere in the world. It is possible to do responsible tourism and enjoy the wonders of the flora and fauna of the planet without negatively affecting it.
