Environmental Hero: The Legacy of Dog Ikura on Japan’s Pristine Beach

The dog Ikura has been no longer alive since mid-June. She had been at home in Kochi Prefecture, Japan, near Irino Beach, considered one of Japan’s most picturesque sandy beaches.

Garbage problem on the paradisiacal beach

But as beautiful as the dream beach, which stretches around four kilometers and is partly lined with old pine groves, is, a lot of plastic waste washes up here and is probably left behind by the many visitors from near and far. And now the dog Ikura comes into play, about whose work the news magazine that specializes in stories from Japan “Sumikai” reported. The reason was the death of the 13-year-old dog.

Environmental care for more than ten years

Ikura and her master Nobuyuki Niiya had gotten into the habit of taking a long walk on the beach every morning and evening. The dog collected one plastic bottle after the other and both of them finally took them to a garbage collection point. According to “Sumikai”, around 4,000 bottles were collected, which thanks to Ikura no longer pollute the environment.

Ikura has drawn attention to the plastic waste problem

Ikura became something of a four-legged celebrity after being featured in TV and newspaper reports. Regardless of the bottles actually removed, she worked as a “plastic bottle dog” to bring the beach of Irino and, in connection with it, the pollution of the world’s oceans through plastic waste into greater general awareness.

And her example set a precedent – other beach walkers also began to collect plastic waste that had washed up.

Action continues even without Ikura

Last year, the dog first went blind and eventually her legs became very weak – so she had to give up her “work” in May. “I wish she could have lived a little longer. But Ikura left a successor for her mission to collect plastic bottles,” said Nobuyuki Niiya, who runs a surfing school on the beach. Because in February Uni came to them, a one-year-old Boston Terrier dog. To a certain extent, she has copied the environmental job from Ikura and is now following in her “paw prints”.

2023-10-11 19:43:22
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