The Taiji dolphin drive hunt is based on driving dolphins and other small cetaceans into a small bay where they can be killed or captured for their meat and for sale to dolphinariums. The new primary killing method is done by cutting the spinal cord of the dolphin, a method that claims to decrease the mammal's time to death. Taiji has a long connection to whaling in Japan. The 2009 documentary film The Cove drew international attention to the hunt. Taiji is the only town in Japan where drive hunting still takes place on a large scale.
The number of dolphins available for catch in FY2023 set by the Fisheries Agency was 10,920 for Japan as a whole, and the number of dolphins available for catch allocated to the Taiji dolphin drive hunt was 1824. Of these, the actual number of dolphins caught in Japan as a whole was 614, compared to 492 in the Taiji dolphin hunt. The largest quota for dolphin hunting in Japan is the harpooning of Dall's porpoise and True's porpoise in Iwate Prefecture, where 3313 Dall's porpoises and 4336 True's porpoises were authorized to be caught in FY2023. However, only 109 True's porpoises were actually caught.
A majority of international concern is on the hunting method, which is viewed as inhumane. An article by National Geographic refers to The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums' decision to no longer support the Taiji hunt. In 2015, it was announced that there would be a ban in the buying and selling of dolphins through the means of this hunt.
Context and history There is a long history of whaling in Japan. Residents of Taiji have been refining whaling techniques ever since began the first commercial operations in Japan in 1606. Initially, whales were taken by means of hand harpoons and small boats. After nets were introduced into whaling in 1675, the industry spread throughout Japan.
Dolphin drive hunting, in which small cetaceans are herded towards the land, exists as a form of aboriginal whaling in coastal communities around the world, from the Faroe Islands to the Solomon Islands. It has been practiced in various parts of Japan as well, but Taiji is the only substantial hunt that remains. The hunts are argued to be a part of Japanese culture.
Species and numbers Drive hunt Nine species of dolphins, listed in the table below, were caught in the Taiji dolphin drive hunt from FY2010 to FY2022. The hunting season ran from September to the following August.
+ FY2010-FY2022 Taiji Dolphin Drive Hunt ResultsSpeciesQuota (2019/2020/2021/2022)2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022Short-finned pilot whale134/101/101/1010741728841804157 063144513Striped450/450/450/450458406508498367353625299435343373265178Bottlenose298/298/298/29839576186190172181147127971331355670Risso's251/251/251/251271273188298260211232118227191167171159Pantropical spotted280/280/280/280125106981261455920170187600False killer whale70/70/70/4901700000000000Pacific white sided100/100/100/10027242395762119815130Rough-toothed20/20/20/20000000027615000Melon-headed whale300/300/300/300000000015611020323067148Total1.903/1,870/1,870/1,8491,2769761,1541,2399909111,0718228949741,010617568
Harpooning hunt Five species of dolphins, listed in the table below, were caught in the Taiji dolphin harpooning hunt from FY2010 to FY2022. The hunting season ran from September to the following August.
+ FY2010-FY2022 Taiji Dolphin Harpooning Hunt ResultsSpeciesQuota (2019-2022)2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022Risso's1471261045238103131700000Striped711009694676322101810000Bottlenose4738407368354311471224350Pantropical spotted497212418022700000Pacific white sided260020000000000Melon-headed whale210000000000000Total3612712422331772197824991324350
The initial drive In Japan, the hunting is done by a select group of fishermen.Paul Kenyon (2004), reporter for the BBC. BBC's dining with the dolphin hunters, retrieved on June 21, 2008. When a pod of dolphins has been spotted, fishing boats move into position. One end of a steel pipe is lowered into the water, and the fisherman aboard the boats strike the pipe with mallets.Kjeld Duits (2005), Japan correspondent for Environmental News Service (ENS). Activists Worldwide Protest Japan's Dolphin Slaughter , ENS article retrieved on June 21, 2008. This is done at strategic points around the pod, in an effort to herd them toward land. The clamor disrupts the dolphins' sonar throwing off their navigation and herds them towards the bay which leads to a sheltered cove. There, the fishermen quickly close off the area with nets to prevent the dolphins' escape. As the dolphins are initially quite agitated, they are left to calm down over night. The following day, fishermen enter the bay in small boats, and the dolphins are caught one at a time. Some are selected for live capture and are sold to dolphinariums. Others are slaughtered for their meat. Many protesters object to both uses.
Method of slaughter The killing of the animals had been done by slitting their throats, but the Japanese government banned this method and now dolphins may officially only be killed by driving a metal pin into the neck of the dolphin, which causes them to die within seconds according to a memo from Senzo Uchida, the executive secretary of the Japan Cetacean Conference on Zoological Gardens and Aquariums. A veterinary team's analysis of 2011 video footage of Japanese hunters killing striped dolphins using this method suggested that in one case death took over four minutes.
Live capture A few dolphins from each hunt may be selected for captivity and sold to marine parks around the world. In May 2015, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) banned the sale and transfer of captive dolphins from Taiji, Japan. Dolphins are sold to marine parks and swimming with dolphins resorts that do not belong to WAZA.
Occasionally, some of the captured dolphins are left alive and taken to mainly, but not exclusively, Japanese dolphinariums.Internal memo from the Japanese aquarium industry , retrieved on June 21, 2008. Prior to the practice being banned in 1993, dolphins were exported to the United States to several parks.Roger Moore for the Orlando Sentinel (2009) SeaWorld rejects condemnation by 'The Cove', article retrieved August 27, 2010.
The US National Marine Fisheries Service has refused a permit for Marine World Africa USA on one occasion to import four false killer whales caught in a Japanese drive hunt. In recent years, dolphins from the Japanese drive hunts have been exported to China, TaiwanCourtney S.Vail and Denise Risch (2006), Driven by demand , chapter International trade in drive hunt dolphins. Retrieved June 21, 2008. and to Egypt.HEPCA (2010), Ultimatum to move the dolphins , article retrieved October 6, 2010. On multiple occasions, members of the International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA) have also been observed at the drive hunts in Japan.Thomas H. Brown (2005), Public Comments to the California Ocean Protection Council (page 4), retrieved June 21, 2008. Also, Bill Rossiter (2004), Tursiops.org article , retrieved on June 21, 2008.
Captive dolphins are now sold to aquariums and swim programs all over the world. The animals that are captured often die within days due to shock and injury, many during transport. The rest will live in captivity. Those in accredited facilities can have a lifespan comparable to what they would likely experience in the wild.
Taiji Twelve The Taiji Twelve is a term used by anti-dolphin hunting campaigners to describe a group of dolphins captured in a dolphin drive hunt outside of the town of Taiji, Wakayama, Japan in October 2006.Japan's Export Of 'The Taiji Twelve' Dolphins To The Dominican Republic Stopped November 26, 2007 Underwater Times The Ocean World Adventure Park in the Dominican Republic had placed an order for twelve dolphins for the captive swim program.
Although most of the dolphins captured were earmarked for export, a coalition headed by the Japan Dolphins Coalition's marine-mammal specialist Richard O'Barry, with Earth Island Institute, tried to block their export to the Dominican Republic.Eyewitness to slaughter in Taiji's killing coves A gruesome fate befalls thousands of dolphins in Japan every year February 14, 2007 The Japan Times The exportation was eventually canceled.
Health risks The meat and blubber of the dolphins caught has been found to have high levels of mercury, cadmium, the pesticide DDT, and organic contaminants like PCBs.Marine connection magazine Seventh Wave issue 11, 2005 , article Captured, killed and contaminated, retrieved June 21, 2008.Japan’s dolphin hunt sags over mercury fears, NBC News June 21, 2008.Johnston, Eric, "Mercury danger in dolphin meat", The Japan Times, September 23, 2009, p. 3. The Japanese Ministry of Health issued warnings on the consumption of some species of fish, whale, and dolphin since 2003. It recommends that children and pregnant women avoid eating them on a regular basis. Because of the health concerns, the price of dolphin meat decreased significantly in 2006.Gary Anderson for the Sunday Mirror (2006), article Slaughtered, read on October 14, 2006.
In June 2008, Aera, a Japanese weekly journal, reported that the whale and dolphin meat sold in Taiji contained 160 times higher levels of mercury, and hairs from eight men and women had 40 times higher levels, based on a research conducted by the National Institute for Minamata Disease (NIMD). The NIMD published the full data of the research online a few days later. It has been pointed out that the amount of methyl-mercury, which causes neurological damage, was not exceedingly high, and the mercury in hair showed rapid decrease since tests carried out by other institutions a few months ago to the same people. The NIMD agreed to help monitor the health of Taiji residents.
In 2010, hair samples from 1,137 Taiji residents were tested for mercury by the National Institute for Minamata Disease. The average amount of methyl mercury found in the hair samples was 11.0 parts per million for men and 6.63 ppm for women, compared with an average of 2.47 ppm for men and 1.64 ppm for women in tests conducted in 14 other locations in Japan. One hundred eighty-two Taiji residents showing extremely high mercury levels underwent further medical testing to check for symptoms of mercury poisoning. None of the Taiji residents displayed any of the traditional symptoms of mercury poisoning, according to the Institute.Matsutani, Minoru, "Taiji locals test high for mercury: In surprise, experts fail to discover any signs of illness", The Japan Times, May 10, 2010, p. 1.Matsutani, Minoru, "Most Taiji residents rest easy, refuse to change diet", Japan Times, May 10, 2010, p. 2.
The chief of the NIMD, Koji Okamoto, said, "We presume that the high mercury concentrations are due to the intake of dolphin and whale meat. There were not any particular cases of damaged health, but seeing as how there were some especially high concentration levels found, we would like to continue conducting surveys here." Despite the claim made by Boyd Harnell, the special correspondent to The Japan Times, that the mortality rate for Taiji and nearby Koazagawa, where dolphin meat is also consumed, is "over 50% higher than the rate for similarly-sized villages throughout Japan" using data from Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, it was revealed that the comparison was not suitable due to the huge gap in the villages' age profile. While Taiji and Kozagawa showed 34.9 percent and 44 percent of the population were over 65 years old, the compared villages showed 21 percent to 27.9 percent.Harnell, Boyd, "Experts fear Taiji mercury tests are fatally flawed", The Japan Times, May 23, 2010, p. 12.