“Stop” the Driven Hunt – Dolphins in Taiji, Japan

SEPTEMBER 1st marked the start of the 2015/2016 dolphin drive hunt season in Taiji, Japan.

Each year from September through March, the notoriously cruel dolphin slaughter takes place in Taiji, Japan;
During the season, dolphin hunters “drive” the mammals to the cove via means of physical and acoustic torture;
Live dolphins are hand-picked by local trainers and shipped to aquariums which have placed orders;
The slaughtered dolphins meat is packaged for consumption (a dangerous practice as it contains high levels of toxins such as mercury and PCBs, neither fit for humans or animals to eat);
The economic underpinning of these driven hunts, lies in capturing dolphins for the ‘aquarium shows’ industry;
‘Aquarium shows’ consign a dolphin to a life of subservient duty to their captors;
This topic was initially brought to attention by the 2009 Academy award-winning documentary “The Cove” – Dolphin conservationist, Richard O’Barry;
In April 2015, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) suspended the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) due to its involvement in the drive hunts;
But, this September the Taiji Whale Museum, a facility currently displaying approximately 50 live cetaceans, chose to continue to purchase dolphins captured in Taiji, therefore withdrawing their membership from JAZA;
The Taiji driven hunt and slaughter thereby continues……..’We’ need to stop it.

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