When a sick rabbit looked back at me

2/26/26

I cannot forget the look on the sick rabbit's face when it turned back to look at me.

It seemed to be pleading for help.

I wonder just how many sick or injured rabbits I saw during this visit—twenty-five? Thirty? The number has kept rising since the long weekend. The reality that I cannot save them all. The frustration of being unable to change a system that treats these lives so callously.

During the long weekend, I was reminded of the incident in 2023 involving a rabbit named Matsuzaka-san; children had repeatedly cornered the animal, causing it to break its back, and it died the following day. (Pinned post in my instagram profile)

I witnessed the same scenes over this holiday weekend that have remained unchanged for ages: a boy thrusting his hands in to try and catch a rabbit; a girl—not even three years old—crawling beneath the boardwalk in pursuit of one. To these children, the rabbits are nothing more than toys.

Meanwhile, the crows—which once did little more than peck at carcasses—have evolved into highly skilled hunters. They are quick to spot sick or injured rabbits and lie in wait for the perfect moment to strike. Taking down a rabbit unable to run fast is no challenge for them;

they attack repeatedly, wearing the animal down.

When an injured rabbit—left to heal naturally—goes missing for days, that worry often culminates in a cruel outcome.

Tourists want to frolic with the cute rabbits, and they are determined to feed them—at any cost. For the rabbits, weekends and long holidays become a life-or-death struggle where their very lives are at risk.

Even though the tourists mean no harm, the rabbits end up losing their lives. A person might stop when cautioned, only for the very next person nearby to repeat the same behavior. Signs and announcements prove ineffective; the number of injured and dying rabbits shows no signs of decreasing.

Okunoshima absolutely must change.

I heard that during the trial regarding an incident a year ago, the island's rabbits were officially classified as "protected animals" for the first time.

If that is the case, the current conditions in which the island's rabbits live must be in violation of the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals.

Unless we appeal to the Ministry of the Environment, the situation will not change.

The Ministry of Environment, Chugoku Shikoku office

Email: REO-CHUSHIKOKU@env.go.jp