16 Striped dolphins brutally slaughtered in Taiji, Japan

This morning was the sixth time Striped dolphins were driven into the Cove and slaughtered this season, and the third time this week.

Cove Monitors first noticed the formation at around 9:15am coming from the East.

As the banger boats drove the pod in closer, the dolphins became more and more determined to try and flee from the hunters, resulting in the pod splitting into two.

One half of the pod successfully broke free, swimming out to open ocean at full speed!

However, the other half weren’t so fortunate.

The banger boats remorselessly hunted them down, revving their engines, black smoke billowing behind them.

They netted the dolphins into the Cove fairly quickly, although unbeknownst to the hunters, a couple of stragglers swam outside the nets, helplessly watching their trapped family members.

As the hunters lifted the nets to push the few outsiders in, they started swimming as fast as they could out of the Cove.

Two skiffs charged after them, but returned empty handed. Another few dolphins had escaped.

Unfortunately, the others’ fate was sealed. Shortly after being pushed under the tarps, the thrashing began and the water started to cloud with blood.

16 Striped dolphins were stolen from the ocean and brutally slaughtered today.