• Bird Sanctuary or Mortuary (May 2007)
• Bird Rescue Underway: Six Saved Thousands to go (December 2007)
• Save the Birds (December 2007)
• Kasumigaura Bird Rescue (January 2008)
• Bird Rescue Stuck in the Mud (February 2008)
• Kasumigaura Bird Rescue Meeting (February 2008)
• Still Caught up in Kasumigaura Bird Rescue (December 2008)

Today, I decided to shadow Avi on one of his trips to survey the situation and rescue any birds that were caught in the nets. As we pulled up to one of the sites, Avi spotted a duck that was hanging from one of its feet and ran out to rescue it -- almost before I could stop the car! He only had one set of hip waders, so I had to watch on the sidelines, but that was probably for the best anyway, as the fields that he had to traverse today were really difficult to manoeuvre in and my short little legs would probably not have been able to propel me forward very effectively.

He rescued a small duck and a coot in one field and then we moved along the shore until we spotted a larger duck that was caught up in a net but still actively struggling to get free. The larger duck (a mallard) was located far into one of the fields and it took Avi a long time to reach him. Once the duck was free, he swam away into a neighbouring pond and then flew up and away with a vigorous flap of his wings. Unfortunately, the smaller duck and the coot did not seem to be very far off from perishing when Avi rescued them. They both must have been hanging upside down for a long time because even after they were rescued, they just sort of sat in the water, dazed. By the time we returned to where they had been rescued, there was no sign of either one of them. We think they both must have died in the interim.

Avi says that there is definite progress being made on this issue. Many fields that were completely covered in nets are now either open or only covered on the sides. Also, just as we were leaving, we think we spotted some city hall people who had come to remove the birds and the carcasses. I guess it is a bit of an embarrassment for the city to have a bird mortuary on the shores of one of their biggest tourist draws.

However, there is still work to be done. We saw many, many carcasses of birds who had gotten stuck and perished, and Avi assures me that I only saw a very, very small percentage of the fields today. It is important not to let people forget that so many birds are out there hanging from their feet or wings, starving (or freezing) to death. The worst part of it is that the nets are not even effective at keeping the birds out! The fact that the birds get inside the nets is proof enough of that fact, but even worse is the fact that some of the birds can also fly out of the nets -- proving that the nets are not really effective at keeping the birds away at all.

If you have some time to spare, I would urge you to contact Avi (avi[at]tora.email.ne.jp) and volunteer to go out to Kasumigaura with him. If you are strong enough (and tall enough), you can help him with the rescuing, but if you aren't, you can help by taking photos, getting the word out to your friends, helping to find ways to publicize this issue in the Japanese media or on blogs, translating information into Japanese, etc. As with any animal-welfare issue, the faster you offer to help, the fewer animals end up suffering.

November 30 commemorates the day in 1987 that the City of Tsukuba was born from the Village of Sakura and the Towns of Yatabe, Toyosato, and Oho. (The Town of Tsukuba merged with the rest on January 31 of the following year). Since Alien Times was also born in 1987, the Alien Times staff have chosen November 30 and the week that follows it to be ALIEN TIMES FUNDRAISING WEEK.

If you would like to donate to support the publication of Tsukuba's Original English Newsletter which has been published for and by the foreign community of Tsukuba since 1987, please choose one of the following options. You can choose the amount that you would like to donate. (As a guideline, if 20 people donate 2500 yen, we will be able to meet our target. But any amount is welcome!)

PayPal or Credit Card

Click to Donate via PayPal or Credit Card.

Furikomi

Bank: Joyo Bank (常陽銀行)
Branch: Kenkyu Gakuen Toshi Shiten (研究学園都市支店)
Account Name: THE ALIEN TIMES
Account No: 7259017 (regular account, 普通)

Cash Envelope by Mail (Genkin Kakitome)

Address: 305-0051 Ibaraki-ken, Tsukuba-shi, Ninomiya 1-6-2
Ninomiya House
Alien Times Post Box

Cash to AT Staff

If you meet up with one of the AT Editors (Mieko Ono, Shaney Crawford, Anna Hamakoji), you can hand your donation to us and we will be sure to put it directly into the bank account. (If you are not comfortable with this option, please choose one of the other options above.)

About Alien Times and the Fundraising Week

Alien Times is a free publication that has been providing information in English to Tsukuba's residents since 1987. The magazine is published once per month (except for the July/August issue) and there is a companion blog site where the articles are archived (TsukuBlog: http://blog.alientimes.org).

The printing of Alien Times is generously subsidized by the Tsukuba Expo '85 Memorial Foundation and supported by a number of local sponsors including Blomster Anna (flower shop), Fleur de Lis (jewelry shop), IACE (travel agent), Isebu (printer), Isshinryu Karate, and J-Cool (hair salon). We also get some income from our website (basically enough to cover the cost of the website).

All of the people who work on Alien Times are volunteers and none of the money that comes into the Alien Times accounts gets paid to any editor, contributor, or volunteer. All of the income goes towards the printing costs, the website costs (only the hosting and domain fees -- all of the design work and maintenance is done by volunteers), and the costs incurred while managing the publication (e.g. binders for the archives, stamps to send copies of magazines to contributors).

The editors of Alien Times are dedicated to keeping the magazine free so that it can be distributed to various locations around the city and be spotted and picked up easily by the people who need the information (foreign residents and tourists). However, in order to keep the magazine free, we need to do some fundraising!

We are hoping to raise approximately 50,000 yen this week, which is the approximate cost of printing a single monthly issue. We have never asked for the Tsukuba community to contribute financially to the making of the magazine, but we thought that maybe it was time to bow our heads and ask humbly for your support.

If you have benefitted from Alien Times or TsukuBlog in the past, please consider making a small donation to show your appreciation and to help ensure the continuation of our community's English magazine and website.

We sincerely appreciate your support,
The Alien Times Staff

Those of us involved in trying to have Tsuchiura's lotus root farmers take down their deadly bird-ensnaring nets have been making efforts to rescue as many birds as possible from slow starvation, until that end is achieved.

We have become, however, metaphorically and quite literally, stuck in the mud. First, there are the technical problems which need to be dealt with. These are: slogging through waist high muck which in this season is covered with a sheet of ice and makes the going very slow and dealing with the entanglements themselves which can be amazingly complex and even more time consuming as we do not want to damage property by cutting the nets.This is exacerbated by the weight of the birds themselves with makes the nets harder to deal with.

Maurice, who drives the long way from Iwama to look for and save living danglers has applied his ingenuity to making our activities more efficient. He has bought chest-high waders, has found tools useful for untangling knots, has found that covering the birds with a sack calms them down, and has developed a sling which takes the birds weight off of the entanglement.

Even for Maurice, the going is still very slow and we need more volunteers. We thought that an article in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper would give some publicity which would help our cause. Even though the reporter showed an interest in the problem and in what we were doing and was generally quite sympathetic, the subsequent article left us highly disappointed in that it didn't mention many of the crucial points related to the issue. There was also no mention of our volunteer activities.

One reason for this might be that many Japanese are currently upset and emotional about the foreign protesters who boarded their whaling ships. If this is the case, it was very bad timing for us.

Though we have had many disappointments, we are not about to give up. We will continue to push for changing the situation. Many other publications besides Asahi Shimbun have shown an interest in this problem and we will continue to appeal to the public. If you have any good ideas, PLEASE contact us.

Something MUST be done about the senseless and cruel slaughter of birds in the nets around Lake Kasumigaura. And because Maurice, a Canadian living in Iwama has gotten involved, the beginnings of a volunteer rescue movement have started to germinate.

Maurice is an experienced environmental activist whose approach to getting things moving is to engage the farmers in friendly discussion in order to win them over to our side. Then if farmers refuse to or are not available to free birds entangled in their own fields, Maurice takes action, but strictly within the bounds of the law. He has purchased a pair of chest-high water-proof waders, and rubber gloves, and carries tools which are not used for cutting. He refuses to cut any nets in order to free birds (as the farmers themselves would do), because that could be considered an illegal act. Instead, he patiently and painstakingly untangles the ensnared wings legs and necks. He also takes precautions against bird flu by wearing a protective surgical mask. This approach is extemely time consuming, and we were only able to rescue six birds today. I felt impotent, standing on firm ground as Maurice plodded, like an astronaut on a planet with a strong gravitational pull, through the waist deep muck, slowly toiling to free the struggling survivers which he spotted with his uncanny eagle eyes.

Birds are continually being caught. Saving a handful of birds has no effect on the big picture and our ultimate aim is to have the nets come down as soon as possible. However, it was still extremely heartwarming and relieving to see birds that would have hung until starvation set in swim freely out into the lake.

We DEFINITELY need more people to get involved and we need more input and ideas.

Please contact us if you are interested in making a difference and doing THE RIGHT THING.

Thanks alot

Avi Landau
avi[at]tora.email.ne.jp
090-4221-4194

1 Comments

• At May 5, 2008, TsukuBlog » Kasumigaura Bird Rescue wrote:

  [...] There is a serious animal cruelty problem in Kasumigaura. Birds are being trapped in lotus farmers’ nets and being left to die a slow and painful death. Read more about this issue and what Avi and Maurice are doing about it. [...]

As I have mentioned in a previous entry, this surprisingly large area of unused land located in the very heart of Tsukuba, received a temporary stay of execution when Kayoko Takahashi caught the construction company involved with the project red-handed as it attempted to secretly wipe out a hawk's nest whose existence she had previously reported to the city office. Because of this incident, Ibaraki Prefecture has given the area a three year lease on life.

Takahashi-san has been working feverishly to make local residents aware and to get the local government to reconsider the future of this remarkably complete ecosystem. This month's event was organized in order to give anyone interested a look at the richness of the Konda woods, which have made it possible for its resident hawk couple to successfully raise ALL THEIR YOUNG over the past three years. Not an easy feat, and one that shows the ecological strength of the Kondai-Dai woods.

Professor Satoshi Ohori, an ornithologist at Waseda University drove all the way to Konda to have a look at our local hawks, and give us some advice regarding how to go about a grass roots movement to protect the area.

We started with a walk through the village of Konda. As we shuffled along in the cruel heat, the wooded hill where Hanamuro Castle used to stand was directly behind us, while the forest under which the ruins of Konda Castle now rest lay dead ahead. These were wooden fortresses, or palisades, which were built to dominate the area in the Kamakura Period.

We stopped to examine a Batto Kannon Sacred Stone which stands at the head of a path leading to an ancient and beautiful stairway which ascends through a thick bamboo grove. At the top is the site of the old manor which was the residence of the court official who used to oversee this area in the Nara Period. I pointed out the rare sacred stones which are still carefully tended to by the local villagers.

We then headed into the woods where the hawks live. The three chicks are doing fine and fortunately did not seem to mind the large group of intruders. We tried to be as quiet as possible and quickly left filled with the excitement of a dramatic wildlife encounter.

We then returned to the Sakura gym where we had reserved a room for Professor Ohori's talk. We stressed how it would be possible to save a portion of the woods which would allow the hawks to remain in the area if we got enough people involved, by signing petitions and calling the city and prefectural offices. He said that if enough people raised their voices, some of this forest might be saved.

With those encouraging words Ohori-Sesei rode off into the sunset leaving us with a sense of mission.

We will be having more meetings about the future of Konda-Dai in the near future. If you are interested, or would like to get involved contact Takahashi-san at kayoaro[AT]pd6.so-net.ne.jp or me, Avi Landau at avi[AT]tora.email.ne.jp. (Change the [AT] to an @ sign.)

And yes, that is Mt. Tsukuba in the background in the wood-block print of a bird of prey by Utagawa Hiroshige. It is almost the exact same scene that I see when I watch the hawks from my bedroom window.

The whole procedure didn't last very long. First, I had to fill out a form with my name and contact information and sign something to say that I did not have any of the listed afflictions. After that, I was given an explanation of what would happen if someone happened to need my bone marrow. The man explained that I would be given plenty of opportunities to say "no" for whatever reason -- because I was sick, or tired, or even too busy -- after a match is found. If I did eventually decide to donate my bone marrow, I would be in the hospital for about two or three days and all of my hospital expenses would be covered by the Japan Marrow Donor Program.

After the explanation was finished, I went and sat in a room to wait for a few minutes. There were lots of people in the room who had donated blood, and I would have been happy to donate some of my own while I was there, but since I lived in England for a year in the early 1990s, my blood cannot be accepted (because of the mad cow disease scare that happened around that time in England). I was eventually taken to a room where a doctor took my blood pressure and asked me a few questions. Once I passed the blood pressure test, a nurse took a very small amount of blood from my arm and sent me back to the reception area. At the reception area, I picked up my donor card and a present (two tea towels) and went back to the festival. The whole thing probably took about 30 to 40 minutes -- but if the festival wasn't happening at the time, I'm sure it would have been over even more quickly.

Since bone marrow matches are most likely to be found in people of similar racial background, it is important for foreign people who live in Japan to register themselves. Those of us who are not of Japanese descent have a very limited pool of bone marrow donors to choose from, should we fall ill. Since registration only takes a few minutes, doesn't hurt (except for the prick of the needle), and can be done right in Tsukuba Center, I would like to encourage you to consider doing it. You can have your bone marrow tested and registered in Tsukuba at the Red Cross Blood Donation Center which is located on the second floor (the same level as the pedestrian deck) of AiAi Mall, in between Joyo Bank and Tsukuba Information Center. The Donation Center is open every day, including weekends, from 10am to 12 noon and from 2pm to 5pm. Address: Azuma 1-1364-1-4, Tel: 029-852-7888.

CAPEDS presents Sudan Café in Tsukuba vol.2
- What we found in "Real" Sudan-

What does come up with you,. when you hear the word "Sudan"?
Civil war? Terrorism? Yes, they exactly exist. However, will they ever shape the whole "Sudan"?

The non-profit organization Committee for Assisting and Promoting Education of the Disabled in Sudan(CAPEDS) is a organization aimed to promote and to assist education for the disabled in Sudan. We are now taking actions for promotion and assistance of information education and promotion of blind soccer in Khartoum, Sudan.
(To see more details : please look at http://capeds.org）

In October 2009, 2 of our student staffs went to Khartoum to know the conditions of our running project and to deepen exchange with our counterpart in Sudan. Can you imagine what did they find in Sudan?

Please join us to feel "Real Sudan" by the story of our staffs with hibiscus tea and Sudanese snacks.

The details are below.

Date: Dec 2nd, 2009(Wed) 18:30-20:40
Place : Class room 301, 3A building, Tsukuba University
(5 min by foot from the bus stop "Daigaku-Chuo")
Fee: Free
How to join: Please e-mail to info.tsukuba[at]capeds.org with the name and number of the participants. Please fill the title with "Participation of the event".
Walk-in participants are also welcomed.

If you have any questions, please send e-mail to info.tsukuba[at]capeds.org

Tsukuba`s Animal Welfare Activists at Matsuri Tsukuba

For animal lovers, Japan can be a very stressful place. Even here in Tsukuba, where life in general is quite pleasant , one has to somehow accustom oneself to the daily sight of broken-spirited dogs kept their whole lives in cages or boxes hardly larger than themselves, or tethered to extremely short chains with no shelter from the sun or rain, surrounded by piles of their own waste. And who living here has not had their peace ( of mind) disturbed  by stir-crazy dogs whose ONLY  options for exersize or stress relief  are  barking , howling, or yelping.

Another surprisingly pitiful state of affairs is the lack of proper animal shelters, where stray cats and dogs, or kittens and puppies could be taken to when found. As a long time resident and one of the writers of this blog, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is-:  Ive found a homeless kitten (or puppy). What should I do? Who should I call?

 Im sorry to say that the only answer I can offer is- Hold onto it yourself until you can find someone to adopt it.

Animal Welfare Activists at Matsuri Tsukuba

The alternative to that would be to bring the animal to the city office, where it would be held for 3 days  in a filthy, windowless, foul-aired holding shed (some kittens are actually killed by rats there! Even those that are retrieved by owners or adopted by someone often contract severe illnesses at these unsanitary pounds) before being taken to be killed in Kasama.

I guess you could say that this would be a better fate than being sold to a supplier who would sell them to be used in some ( possibly horriffic) experiment.

Being a great lover of nature and animals myself, I had often searched for like-minded people in an around Tsukuba to help fight for various humane and enviromental issues. And though I have found certain individuals willing to help out, I was not aware of any group or organization which existed around here, dedicated to helping animals.

That is why it came as a SHOCK (though a very pleasant one), to find, among all the food stalls and buskers of Matsuri Tsukuba, not one, but THREE booths set up by various animal welfare groups  who are active in Tsukuba.

The first of these was the SUTENEKOBOUSHI KAI ( 捨猫防止会), literally the Society to Prevent The Abandonment of Cats and Kittens, which according to its representative in Tsukuba , Makomi Tsuruta, tries to educate the public about humane treatment and cat care and also promotes  neutering in order to keep the homeless cat population under control. Their homepage is:

http://miaomiaogatti.blogspot.com/

Then there was the DOBUTSU AIGO WO KANGAERU IBARAKI NETWORK (　動物愛護を考える茨城県民ネットワーク), the THINKING ABOUT THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS IBARAKI NETWORK, which was represented by Horiyuki Sakamoto. This group tries to pressure the local govermant to legislate for a more humane society. They are now focusing on the building of a better holding center (dog pound) at the future Tsukuba City office. Mr Sakamoto can be contacted at 0298 51 5580.

Animal Support Kizuna ( あにまるさぽーと　・きずな): http://kizna.sakura.ne.jp/index.html

actually goes to the holding facilities (pounds) and checks on conditions. They also try to rescue as many animals as they can by finding them homes. They need both volunteers and funds!

In the same booth I was happy to find Hisako Horie, who lives in Ushiku and represents ALIVE, a nationwide organization which works to make it Japan a better country for ALL ANIMALS and also to protect Japans environment. Please check out their website:

http://www.alive-net.net/

It was enlightening to speak with Tomoko Watanabe (who spends large parts of her earnings, as most of these activists do) on helping care for homeless animals. She explained how difficult it was, in Ibaraki Prefecture and especially in Tsukuba, to help find homes for dogs and cats who need them. So far, permission has not been gotten to set up adoption displays near Tsukuba Center and activists around here who want to do this have to travel with the animals all the way to Saitama Prefecture (every Saturday at the Minami Koshigaya Station), where passersby can see them and possibly take them home.

I also learned that Ibaraki Prefecture also leads Japan in animal euthanization.

 If you are interested, this Wednesday (September 2), these activists will be going to the Kukizaki City Office to submit a pettion for a more humane holding facility. Why dont you come along. We will meet at the Andersen Bakery at 9:30 am.

Lets make Tsukuba (and Japan) an EVEN BETTER PLACE than it already is!

3 Comments

• At September 1, 2009, Tomoko wrote:

  Hi Avi and Shaney, Thank you very much for visiting our booth at Matsuri-tsukuba last sunday and reporting our activity for animal protection on this blog!!!

• At September 3, 2009, Avi Landau wrote:

  Yesterday morning (Wed. Sept 2nd), about ten of us gathered outside the city office at Kukizaki. We were invited into a conference room ( where we filled up nearly all the seats) by Itoh-San, head of the Animal welfare Department, and three of his superiors from the Environment Division. We proceeded to plead for certain changes in the way the city deals with stray cats and dogs (these animals are PUT AWAY after 3 days in the pound and sometimes it is difficult for owners to locate lost pets), and proposed a better holding facitily for these animals.

  When one of the officials stresses the MANNER of pet owneres were to blame for these pets gone astray, I asked him what he meant by manner,( keeping dogs on short chains or in boxes?) and also asked when a proper shelter, which would give the animals a chance to find homes, would be established.

  Mr Itoh, a very smooth talker ( who has met with these activists for 7 years without having actually overseen any changes)responded with the usual talk of no funds (true!)and his own lack of power in terms of doing anything.

  Poor Itoh-San was exhausted after 2 hours of this, and I kind of felt sorry for him. He was being confronted by a group of well-spoken and very passionate people, while he and his colleages look at the problem as troublesome part of their official duties.

  Anyway, I think the meeting was a success (for what it was), and we hope that what was said in this very interesting meeting will go to higher authorities (but who might they be? One of the great mysteries confronted by those involved in political activism in Japan).

• At October 7, 2009, Makomi Tsuruta wrote:

  I was so happy to see you, Mr.Avi.

  And I thank you to have joined us to the meeting at the Kukizaki city office. We colud have big support and power with you! I hope we continue to contact and cooperate for animal welfare and protection of environment.

  One day we'd like to walk around the Kondadai area to find and feel the wind, the voice of the deep forest, with Tomoko-san, Hisako-san, and many other animalists.

  And I thank you to present our blog-page "Society to prevent the abandonment of cats and kittens".

  See you soon.

=======================
Give Kids a Chance
Will accept rehabilitative equipment for children with special needs, wheelchairs, adaptive chairs, foot braces, leg braces, hip supporters, Type A baby strollers (the big sturdy kind), strollers for twins (front and back style), buggy boards, bike toddler seats (with high back and harness). We are sending them to the Philippines to give to kids with special needs in orphanages and to the poor who can't afford such things. We will pick up around Tokyo and Kanagawa area. Can't pay cash-on-delivery (chakubarai) fees. We are concentrating our collection around Yokohama and can go as far as Chiba or Saitama. No deadline so please spread the word if you know someone who has any of these items. Give Kids A Chance. rshiroiwa[at]yahoo.com

See some items that have already been donated.

=======================

Often these charities cannot afford the cost of having the item shipped, so you may incur some costs when you send your items. However, the idea that people who really need your used items -- people who might not be able to have what you are trying to get rid of unless you make this small effort -- are going to be able to make good use of them might help you justify the cost to yourself.

If you know of any charities or organizations that are not on the list, please let me know and I will add them.

Just north of the Sakura City Office, on both sides of the narrow road which runs by it from the Hanamuro intersection, there amazingly remain large areas of almost completely unused land, with brush so thick that in summer it is all but inaccessible, save for the few barely recognizable trails created by the small mammals which find shelter there. These are weasels, tanuki, rabbit and maybe even fox. The area resounds with the calls of pheasants (kiji), bush warbler (uguisu) and at night- OWLS.

In the middle of this veritable jungle is Kayoko Takahashi's tastefully designed house/aromatherapy studio. In her dining room there is always a field scope set up on a tripod. These days at almost any time during the day, if you put your eye to the eye-piece you will be in for a thrill. It is fixed on a favorite spot of the female O-Taka who you will almost surely see waiting for the return of her mate with food for their young. The actual nest sits a few trees away. This week the cry of the chicks is clearly audible.

My house is on the fringe of this same wilderness, and I can just make out Takahashi-san's roof amidst the trees, from my bedroom window. Just the other day I received a surprise visit from the male hawk. A shadow passed, and I guessed it was just another crow on my veranda. I turned for a look and my eyes almost popped out of my head when, through the curtain, I recognized the large raptor, munching on a freshly caught prey, just a few feet from my bed.

With the TX development project, this area was chosen as the location for the railroad's employee housing. It was ALL slated for clearing and development. Takahashi-san changed the course of events, however, by alertly informing officials about the annual presence of the breeding hawks and called for a re-evaluation of the project. Within a couple of days a bulldozer from the project's contractor UR 都市再生機構 (UR Toshi Saisei Kiko) arrived and started to push down all the trees which Takahashi-san had indicated!!!! Lucky for two things, though. First they missed the actual breeding nest and had knocked out only an old nest they had spotted, and second Takahashi-san witnessed and filmed the whole incident!!! An order from the prefectural government was obtained to temporarily halt construction.

What happens next is still up in the air, but as you might know, government sponsored projects are almost  NEVER scrapped after being approved.For example, It was not  possible to stop the filling in and destruction of Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture even  when eventually it was recognized by all parties that the huge project was ABSOLUTELY useless. But you never know, maybe things will work out differently in Tsukuba.

On Saturday July 12th at 1:30pm, we will tour the area paying special attention to flora,fauna and historical monuments. We will then of course  discuss the situation. Anyone interested in these procedings
can contact me at avi@tora.email.ne.jp

Please come and join in the fight to keep Tsukuba GREEN and BEAUTIFUL.