In Japan, fishermen round up and slaughter hundreds and even thousands of dolphins and other small whales each year.

In the small fishing village of Taiji, entire schools of dolphins are driven into this hidden cove after a prolonged chase. Once trapped inside the cove, the fishermen kill the dolphins, slashing their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. The water turns red with their blood, and the air fills with their screams.

The Japanese government recently introduced pilot whale meat to children’s school lunch programs, despite the fact that the meat is tainted with mercury and not fit for human consumption. The Japanese government and the dolphin hunters do not warn the Japanese people of this danger, although the dolphin meat should be labeled as toxic. Much of the tainted dolphin meat ends up as counterfeit whale meat in Tokyo and other large cities.

Visit Save Japan Dolphins to find out more and take action.

A documentary The Cove (2009) follows former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry’s quest to document the dolphin hunting operations in Taiji. The film won an Oscar has dramatically increased the attention on the events in Taiji. But even with increased activism the senseless slaughter is stil going on.

Documentary Website

Oceanic Preservation Society – Get involved

Celebrity PSA – My Friend