BREAKING: Captured: First Bottlenose Dolphins Caught in Taiji; Watch the Slaughter of them Now LIVE!
They are streaming LIVE from The Cove in Taiji, Japan, Watch how the people from Taji, Japan slaughter the pod of Dolphins they stole from our oceans. #RedCove2 watch here: https://goo.gl/mFAk1d
Taiji: Dolphin getting stuck in nets. Frantically trying to escape hunters. #dolphinproject #Tweet4Dolphins2015-09-20 6:10a
Dolphin Project was on the ground, live streaming the violent capture, documenting the terrified dolphins’ vocalizations and tail slapping as their access to freedom was sealed off. At least one dolphin was caught in the nets, which we were able to photograph. Two animals were also seen having bloody dorsal fins.
captured dolphin Taiji, Japan
Photo Credit: DolphinProject.com
“Much of the violence comes from the drive itself, where some dolphins don’t even make it to the cove. The drives are so stressful on dolphins that pregnant females in the process of a drive can abort their calves and young ones can’t always keep up the fast pace.” ~ Ric O’Barry
The entire pod appeared to be comprised of juveniles, with no full-size adults seen.
There are more than 150 orders placed for live dolphins from Taiji, according to the Taiji Fishermen’s Union. The majority of these mammals, approximately 70%, are destined to be shipped to China. In spring of this year, Ric O’Barry and Hans Peter Roth were invited to Beijing to launch their book, The Cove, (Dolphin Bay) by Zhonghua Book Company.
“When dolphins are successfully “driven” into the cove, they become property of the Taiji Fisherman’s Union.” ~ Dolphin Project Veteran Cove Monitor Terran Baylor
In addition to live captures, the 2015/2016 drive fisheries (kill) quota has been set at 1,873 mammals, comprising seven species of cetaceans.
Between 38 and 42 dolphins remain in the cove, where they will be held overnight. They will not be fed. Their fate also remains a mystery. No matter what the outcome, the pod has been irrevocably ravaged.