Hunter Dead – Boar Alive In Japan

How not to hunt wild boar.

A group of hunters that included a 67 year old and his 65 year old friend scoured the mountains in Fukuchiyama City in northern Kyoto prefecture, Japan, for wild boar sometimes in June of 2010. “Shocked” by another hunter nearby the 67 year old shot at a moving object closing in on him without first properly identifying his target.

The target turned out not to be a boar but his 65 year old friend, Mr. Miyake. While other hunters tended to the severely wounded Miyake, the hapless shooter indicated that he would run for some help.

Soon thereafter the remaining hunting party heard another shot. They subsequently found the shooter with a self-inflicted fatal gunshot to his chest.

This tragic story is yet another good example of the importance of proper target identification before any shot is taken. We recently talked about the shooting of a boar in tall grass in San Diego County. The boar turned out to be a sow. Here we have another good example of shooting first and looking later.

Let this be a reminder that it is reckless and negligent to shoot at a ‘target’ that you cannot identify correctly and with certainty as the game you are hunting. Potshots at moving objects, obscured by grass or bushes or bramble, because wild pigs have been observed earlier in the area are highly objectionable and negligent. No ethical and responsible hunter should ever consider such shots. Is a wild pig really worth serious civil and criminal consequences?

PJJ