Japanese dolphin hunts are not traditional says local fisherman

Japanese government claims that the annual slaughter of dolphins in the Taiji Cove is some sort of traditional, centuries-old cultural practice, has been dismissed by a former Japanese dolphin hunter who has stated that the hunting method was first used as recently as 1969.

The Japanese government and local fishermen have previously used the argument that the hunts should continue on grounds that they are a centuries old cultural tradition, but former fisherman, Izumi Ishii, has told the Japan Times newspaper that ‘mentors’ from another area (Futo, Shizuoka Prefecture) taught Taiji’s fishermen how to conduct dolphin drive hunts for the first time in 1969!

Fishermen in Taiji kill hundreds of dolphins by driving groups of these defenceless creatures into the cove using boats and loud under water noise to disorientate them. They are then slaughtered in a cruel manner or hand-picked for live transport to aquaria where they live the rest of their lives in a small tank.

Please help WDC to stop the transport of these dolphins for captivity and so remove the economic incentive to keep these hunts alive. Over 40 airlines have already joined our campaign, we need your help to persuade the rest.