A mother dolphin tried desperately to save her calf from Japanese hunters who planned to sell the animals to aquariums, according to activists.
Heartbreaking footage of the incident was taken in Taiji, a coastal town in the Wakayama Prefecture.
The video, taken by volunteer Liz Carter of Blue Cove Days, shows a group of divers trying to wrestle a dolphin away from its pod.
In 2004, around 1,600 dolphins were snatched and by the 2014/15 season, around 750 were taken, according to the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP).
