Ocean Sentry
A family of Risso’s dolphins was destroyed in the Cove today.
Banger boats congregated in the East and started driving the pod towards Taiji at 8:15am.
Soon after that, the pod somehow split into two groups, so the banger boats split too and pursued both sections of the pod.
The first part of the pod appeared to be younger by their darker color.
When they were netted in the Cove, they swam around frantically, one of them become increasingly distressed slapping the surface of the water with its tail as it became entangled in the nets.
The second part of the pod were then chased in and the family were reunited, little did they know it would only be for a short while.
The whole pod swam around in circles in panic, led by their older leader of the pod, looking for a way out.
Then, the trainers arrived. Cove Monitors witnessed divers launch onto a dolphin, manhandling it as it struggled, then pass it over to the hunters who trapped it in a net and took it under the tarps to be transferred for a life in captivity.
The rest of the pod were shortly driven under the tarps and the loud thrashing began.
Cove Monitors knew at least one dolphin was alive witnessing their whole family be murdered, but in fact 6 Risso’s dolphins were being put in slings ready for captivity whilst the slaughter was occurring.
Cove Monitors then saw two skiffs emerge from under the tarps with these 6 live dolphins alongside trainers who stole them from their homes in the ocean to incarcerate them in tiny sea pens. Two more skiffs then left, but this time, with dead dolphins.
A total of 10 were slaughtered today, in addition to the 6 dolphins that were selected for captivity.
