Tragedy at Taiji, photo from a past slaughter

Despite domestic and international protest, the annual mass slaughter of bottlenose dolphins is underway in a cove near the Japanese village of  Taiji.  In 2010, The Cove, a documentary about the yearly slaughter, won the Academy Award last night for best feature documentary.  Since then, the level of protest around the world has risen dramatically, but the slaughter continues.

Annual Japanese Dolphin Slaughter Begins in Taiji Cove

Both US and British ambassadors have condemned the “drive killings”, where fishermen lead hundreds of the mammals to a cove in Taiji, in the western Wakayama prefecture, to select some to sell to marine parks. The rest are either released or killed for meat.

British Ambassador to Japan, Timothy Hitchens, his tweeted disapproval to the culling. He said: “The UK opposes all forms of dolphin and porpoise drives; they cause terrible suffering. We regularly raise [the issue] with Japan.”

Caroline Kennedy, the recently installed US ambassador to Japan, also tweeted that she is “deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing.”

Many in Japan have defended the cull despite its condemnation from the West. They argue it is a local custom and it is a vital source of income for the town and helps maintain fish levels in the water.

Shocking footage of dolphin slaughter in Taiji Cove, as annual hunt begins

Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.