Japanese macaques using hot springs in Nagano for warmth have become famous tourist attractions, with welfare implications from high visitor density and habituation.
Macaques at tourist sites experience chronic close proximity to humans, causing stress responses including vigilance behaviour and reduced foraging time. Competition for bathing access is dominated by high-ranking individuals — lower-ranking animals have reduced access to thermoregulation benefits. Agricultural damage by macaques drives annual culling of 10,000-15,000 individuals nationally. Electric fencing and community deterrence reduce crop raiding and the lethal response it provokes.