Blood Flows from the Cove During Dolphin Slaughter. Photo Credit: Kunito Seko
Blood Flows from the Cove During Dolphin Slaughter. Photo Credit: Kunito Seko

Stars Urge Japan to End Dolphin Hunts

Topics: Captivity Industry, Dolphin and Whale Trade, Dolphins, Japan, Slaughter, Taiji, Japan

By Mark J. Palmer

The Cove documentary is still as shocking now as it was when it first came out 16 years ago this summer. The film detailed the work of Earth Island’s International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) to help end the hunts.

Every year in September, the Taiji hunters stop fishing and go to chase and harass dolphin pods into the notorious Cove, herding them like cattle to their doom.

Hundreds of dolphins die in the process, which are sold for meat in Japanese markets. But the real money in Taiji comes from capturing live dolphins for aquariums around the world. Many of these captured dolphins, torn from their families (who are usually slaughtered once the selection of “show quality” dolphins is made by the hunters and attendant aquarium staff), will end up going to aquariums in Japan or exported to China (a major market for live dolphins for entertainment), Thailand and Bahrain.

With the help of Take Part, IMMP worked with a group of Hollywood stars to make this PSA about Taiji:

I wish I could say that our work has indeed shut down the dolphin hunts in the little town of Taiji. Unfortunately, the bloody hunts have continued.

We have made some progress:

  • The number of dolphins being killed in the dolphin drive hunts has decreased substantially from when IMMP first began the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign in 2004. Since then, the number of dolphins slaughtered in Taiji has declined by about 60%. Some of that decline may be due to depletion of populations of dolphins in Japanese waters, but a major reason was work by IMMP and other organizations to promote the dangers of eating dolphin meat due to mercury and PCB contamination.

  • Several aquariums in Japan have stopped sourcing Taiji for live dolphins, due to our campaign to convince the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums to encourage the aquariums to stop obtaining dolphins caught in the inhumane drive hunts.
  • IMMP continues working with local Japanese activists to oppose the Taiji dolphin hunts and captivity for whales and dolphins.

These hunts are subsidized by the aquarium industry, which continues to support sourcing wild-caught dolphins for entertainment shows in Japan, China, and other places around the world. Last season, at least 92 dolphins were captured for a miserable life in small concrete tanks.

Taiji dolphin hunts must end, and IMMP will not stop until the hunts are history.

Thank you for your support!