For the first time ever, Munakata City used wild game in school lunches for its seven middle schools and two elementary schools in an effort to raise awareness of locally harvested wild boar. Munakata has been struggling with wild boar damaging crops. Between 2012 and 2013, the area of rice crops damaged jumped from .565 to .799 hectares. In February 2013, Munakata joined three neighboring municipalities in building a boar meat processing plant and has been selling its product under the brand name Munaccho. A representative from the local hunters’ association said if more people start eating boar, then more boar will have to be harvested and crop damage should decline. Meanwhile, the kids at the schools seemed to enjoy the wild boar curry. One 14-year old pupil remarked, “It’s got a good texture. I’ve never had boar before, but I think this curry is better than regular curry.” Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 1/28
