Each year from approximately September 1 to March 1, a large-scale hunt of dolphins takes place in the small village of Taiji, Japan, as featured in the 2010 Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove. During this six month season, dolphin hunters utilize drive hunt techniques to herd large numbers of dolphins to shore, resulting in their capture or death.
The captured dolphins may be selected for live trade to aquariums and marine parks for display, while others are slaughtered for their meat. The price for live captures is many times higher than those killed
Today we know that dolphins have intelligence and emotions, language and dialects, social order and family bonds that are similar to our own – since 1969 hundreds of thousands of dolphins have been brutally slaughtered at Taiji, Japan. Dolphin pod communities hundreds strong have been decimated or even annihilated and countless dolphin families torn apart in what can only be described as an ongoing genocide.
Taiji, Japan ‘The Cove’
“The dolphin drive hunts that take place each year in Taiji, Japan have garnered international attention as the world has learned about the mass slaughter of dolphins and the ruthless captive selection process. These brutal hunts are documented by our team of Cove Monitors each season, and shared with the international public so that attention may be drawn to this outdated and unnecessarily cruel practice.” Click here to learn more.
Save Japan’s Dolphins
“Every year, in Taiji, Japan, dolphins are chased into a small cove and butchered in the most horrific and cruel way imaginable. The hunts are subsidized by the dolphin captivity industry, which pays top dollar for a few “show quality” dolphins that are ripped from their families. The rest of the pod is killed for meat laden with mercury and PCBs. Most Japanese don’t even know the hunts exist. The Japanese government supports the dolphin killers and denies any health issues.” Click here to learn more.
Contact details should you wish to lodge a protest with the Japanese Government:
Japanese Honorary Consulate General
38, Sir Luigi Preziosi Square
Floriana FRN1154, MALTA
T: +356 21 236 703
T: +356 21 231 407
The consule and the staff at the consulate are not to blame for what the Japanese government is allowing to happen at the Taiji cove. Please be courteous when communicating with the Consulate.