Storks released to the wild: Photo courtesy of Sarutaro
KIPPO: Canadian contributed to revival of wild storks
Asahi: 5 storks set free in bid to reverse extinctionStorks, artificially bred and released to the wild, are now flying elegantly over fields in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture. Behind Toyooka's campaign to artificially breed storks, once almost extinct in Japan, and release them to the wild was a Canadian bird enthusiast, named Richard Busette. Busette...came to Toyooka in 1962...At that time, the number of storks inhabiting Toyooka had decreased to only about 30 due to ecological disruptions. He told local people that it was time to start artificial breeding of storks to recover their number... "Artificial breeding" was an unfamiliar expression for local people who would only improve the environment and passively wait until the number of storks increases naturally. Busette's positive attitude came as a surprise to local people who had a typical Japanese attitude of easily getting resigned...The campaign culminated in the implementation in 2003 of a national plan. Incidentally, Busette has not been heard from since he returned to his country.
