Posts Tagged ‘Taiji’
High mercury levels found in Japanese dolphin meat
According to reports from Japan, police there are investigating the sale of whale and dolphin meat containing potentially illegal levels of dangerous toxins. Action for Dolphins group say tests on samples of meat sold in the coastal town of Taiji reveal mercury levels up to 25 times higher that safe limits set by the government.…
Read MoreLatest Taiji drive hunt season ends with many dolphins killed
Fishermen in the coastal town of Taiji, Japan have ended this season’s brutal dolphin hunt and, according to local sources, have killed or captured over 550 whales and dolphins. Species killed include Risso’s and striped dolphins as well as melon-headed whales and short-finned pilot whales. These drive hunts run from September to March or April…
Read MoreSolitary captive dolphin Honey dies
Dolphin Project reports state that a bottlenose dolphin named Honey has died at the Inubosaki Marine Park Aquarium near Tokyo in Japan. She was often described as the world’s loneliest dolphin. Honey was taken from the wild in 2005 in one of the drive hunts that take place each year in Taiji, Japan. In these…
Read MoreNumbers emerge from latest dolphin hunt season in Taiji
Figures from the latest Taiji dolphin hunt season, which began last September, suggest that around 130 individual hunts took place with over 500 dolphins killed. Every year, starting on September 1st, fishermen in the Taiji region of Japan leave the shore to kill a range of different species. Once a pod of dolphins is spotted,…
Read MoreTaiji – another season of slaughter as marine park links grow stronger
Life as a small whale or dolphin can be precarious at the best of times, but off the coast of Japan they face a sinister threat – the fishermen of Taiji. If they’re caught up in the maelstrom of one of the infamous ‘drive hunts’ the outcome is unlikely to be a good one. They’ll…
Read MoreTaiji sets up cultural links with Faroese town
Taiji, the Japanese coastal town where the notorious dolphin drive hunts take place, announced on Wednesday that it has established cultural links with Klaksvik, the second largest town in the Faroe Islands. Those cultural links include the fact that Klaksvik is also a location where drive hunts take place, primarily targeting pilot whales. In a…
Read MoreTaiji hunters allowed to kill more whales and dolphins
Fishermen hunting whales and dolphins in Taiji, Japan have been allowed to increase the number of both melon-headed whales and rough-toothed dolphins only mid-way through the hunting season. Both species were new to the list of those allowed to be caught in the 2017 hunt but the numbers caught already have reached the initial quota…
Read MoreTaiji – an inflated symbol of perceived culture
I have the pleasure of introducing a guest blog by Kame-Kujira-Neko, a Japanese whale and dolphin advocate and author. Kame regularly blogs about whaling and dolphin hunting, mainly in Japanese. His novel “Whales Ocean” was published in Japan in 1995. In Japan, “Alternative facts” about whaling are spreading. There is no longer any reflection on…
Read MoreGood news for WDC dolphin hunt campaign
We have received another boost to our campaign to stop airlines transporting dolphins around the world and fueling the captivity industry. Air India has joined the growing list of major airlines that have now confirmed to us that they will not carry live dolphins taken from cruel hunts in Japan on their aircraft. Hunters kill…
Read MoreLike the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
This afternoon, I joined hundreds of people, young and old, as we marched through central London in brilliant winter sunshine. As we headed down Regent Street and along Piccadilly, the air rang with singing, drums and whistles, whilst colourful flags and banners jostled for space against the skyline. Despite the carnival atmosphere, we marched with…
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