Pod of 40 dolphins killed in Japan's Red Cove after…

Pod of 40 dolphins killed in Japan's Red Cove after being driven into nets

A pod of 40 dolphins have been slaughtered after being driven into nets in Japan 's notorious Red Cove.

Life Investigation Agency, a not-for-profit organisation, filmed the hunt near Taiji, a small coastal town known for its hunt.

Some of the striped dolphins were destined to spend their lives in tanks in marine parks and aquariums around the world. Those not suitable for the shows are slaughtered for meat.

But Ren Yabuki, director of the organisation said last week an "entire family was slaughtered" turning the waters of the quiet cove "red with blood."

He urged Brits "not to buy tickets to aquariums and dolphin shows which are supporting these cruel hunts."

Describing the events that took place last week before the killings, Ren said that four fishing boats using the sound of their engines and hammering iron bars to distress the dolphins, drove the pod into the cove.

He said: "After entering Kageura Bay, the striped dolphins started to panic. Some of them were bleeding as they were hit.

"We heard the sound of the dolphins struggling, the pointy iron rods being repeatedly thrust near the blowhole, the spinal cord being damaged. The pain and suffering, the violent slapping of their tail fins on the surface of the water echoed throughout the bay as they were loaded into small boats."

He added: "This hunt captures live dolphins for shows, where they will be controlled with food, confined in small pools, and forced to perform tricks for the rest of their lives, to make money for humans.

“Either way, it is a miserable end for the dolphins.

"People who buy tickets to aquariums and dolphin shows are supporting these cruel dolphin hunts.”

He added: "If you don't want to be a part of it, choose not to buy tickets to the aquarium or the dolphin show.

"Knowing this reality and just feeling sorry for them will not change anything.”

The Dolphin Project documents the number of dolphins and small whales captured or killed during a six month season, authorised by the Japanese Fishing Agency, between the start of September and the end of February. Nearly 2,000 made up of nine species have been recorded.

Activist Ren said the hunt, which started in 1969, “has nothing to do with tradition or culture.”

He added: “I often see mother dolphins swimming close together with their calves to protect them, and calves panicking, hitting the rock walls. Their mothers are then slaughtered right in front of them. It breaks my heart every time.

“We have never seen such cruel treatment of dolphins than during these past six months. “

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