Ocean Sentry
A small pod of dolphins were driven in to shore after 3 hours of fighting to get away, marking the beginning of the cove’s infamous annual dolphin hunt.
The hunters netted off the pod just outside of the harbor and carried them out in slings.
A few straight to the harbor butcher house (under the tarps) and a few were carried towards sea pens, although some dit not survive the journey.
For this year’s hunt, which runs from September until March, the Japanese government set a kill quota of 2,040 dolphins of various species, according to the Dolphin Project.
Between the months of September and March, pods of various species including bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, pilot whales, false killer whales, pantropical spotted dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins and melon-headed whales will be subject to harassment, injury, capture and slaughter — all in the name of greed. Many more dolphins will be killed in the process of the hunts, their numbers never recorded.
Dolphin Project will be on the ground in Taiji during the entire killing season, broadcasting live from the cove, blogging and disseminating information for the world to see.
