I like your idea, that would certainly make the design problem easier to solve. You sound like you might like the Tibetan sky burial!

Japanese don’t ‘give’ very easily, especially to the animal world. I think the Japanese ideal is to have the talisman protect ‘me’ for one year, and then throw it in the garbage when it is done serving ‘me’. And then get a new one. Even more Japanese would be to take the old one to the shrine so as to make throwing it away a ceremony. I have a Japanese friend who thinks that most everything in Japanese culture is a ceremony and I tend to agree.

By the way, I had never heard of a chupacabra, now I do. Thanks!