Eight dolphins captured by Japanese fishermen in order to be sold to dolphinariums all over the world

Within an hour of leaving the harbor, the banger boats had found a pod of rough-toothed dolphins.

They worked quickly to drive the family closer to Taiji using that ominous wall of sound.

The pod fought hard and tried to slip away a couple of times but the hunters were quick to corral them back.

This family of rough-toothed dolphins had approximately 30 members and 8 were taken for a life of captivity.

The hunters fumbled with nets as dolphins got caught several times and it took them nearly 4 hours to take the 8 dolphins into captivity.

There were juveniles trying desperately to stay by their mother’s side and the entire family was visibly stressed by this drive and capture process.

Cove Monitors could see and hear dolphins slapping their bodies and tails into the water as members of their family were taken away by the divers.

The quota for rough-toothed dolphins in Taiji is 20 and it appears the hunters went beyond this number.

The demand for captive dolphins worldwide is high and as a result, 8 dolphins lost their freedom today.