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

Taiji: Portion of pod from yesterday being pushed into selection/killing area. #dolphinproject #Tweet4Dolphins 2015-09-20 5:45a

Taiji: Skiffs leaving for cove. Hunting boats staying in port. Second day for pod. 2025-09-20 5:30am

Captured: First Bottlenose Dolphins Caught in Taiji
UPDATED September 19, 2015, Taiji: A pod of bottlenose dolphins that – moments earlier – was swimming free in the open ocean, has been captured in Taiji, Japan. In the first capture of the 2015-2016 drive season, a pod of approximately 60+ dolphins were quickly spotted, and soon after, pushed and netted into the cove. Four nets, three close to the shore and one further offshore were strung, to ensure the dolphins did not attempt to escape as did a solitary Risso’s dolphin during the first slaughter of the season.

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.
By the end of the day, several hours after the initial capture, a total of 16 dolphins were taken from the pod. Eight skiffs, each carrying two dolphins, took the mammals to the harbor pens (10 dolphins) and Dolphin Base (6 dolphins), the latter a facility on the north side of Taiji which trains both dolphins and trainers, as well as allows public interaction with the animals. Their final destination? Unknown.

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.