Tourist feeding overwhelms Japan’s Rabbit Island as boars attack
Unregulated tourist feeding on Japan's Okunoshima island has disrupted the local ecosystem, causing wild boars to hunt rabbits. Researchers warn that human interference has pushed the island's wildlife beyond its natural carrying capacity.
Why it matters
The situation serves as a case study on how tourism and human interaction can unintentionally trigger ecological imbalances and alter animal behavior.
Unregulated tourist feeding has pushed Japan’s famous "Rabbit Island" past its natural ecological limits, stripping local plant life bare and causing wild boars to hunt live rabbits.On Okunoshima, an island in Hiroshima Prefecture, heavy feeding by visitors has driven rabbit numbers far beyond what the local environment can naturally support. According to a study published in the Journal of Ecotourism on July 29, 2026, this constant stream of food is reshaping local animal behaviour and causing widespread environmental damage.The study was written by Shingo Kaneko, a professor in the Faculty of Symbiotic Systems Science and Engineering at Fukushima University, alongside co-author Asami Ogura, an associate professor at the National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Kure College, in collaboration with researchers from Kobe College.
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