This year on September 25th, WSPA and dolphin advocates around the world will stage an international day of protest against Japan's bloody drive fisheries. Events will take place at 12 noon (local time) on Tuesday, September 25th at Japanese Embassies and Consulates worldwide.

WSPA urges you to show your support for dolphins by participating in an event near you. WSPA's US office will coordinate events in Boston, MA. For more information on events in other US cities please contact the following groups:

New York City - New York Whale and Dolphin Action League or Cetacean Society International.
Washington DC (including Maryland and Virginia) – AWI or HSI/HSUS
San Francisco – Earth Island Institute or In Defense of Animals
Honolulu, Hawaii – Animal Rights Hawaii

During this annual hunt that takes place in Taiji, Futo and a few other coastal towns in Japan, fishermen in motorboats encircle pods of dolphins with nets and chase them towards shore. Once the dolphins are beached in shallow waters, the fishermen slaughter them with knives and spears. This hunting method is particularly cruel and inhumane and benefits only a handful of fishermen.

During the annual hunt, a few “lucky”  live dolphins are set aside for the captivity industry while the rest are stabbed, their throats cut on the spot, before being loaded onto trucks, sometimes still conscious, to be processed into meat and fertilizer. Despite increasing scientific evidence that dolphin meat contains higher levels of mercury than the contaminated fish that killed and maimed thousands of people in Minamata, Japan, contaminated dolphin meat is still being sold in Japan to an unsuspecting public. Recently three Taiji Town Councilmen started speaking out about mercury contaminated dolphin meat that is being served to children in school lunches.

Though the majority of the dolphins are slaughtered for meat, it is the young dolphins “saved” for the captivity industry (marine parks, aquariums and zoos) that are the primary motivation for the hunts. The captivity industry is facilitating the continued existence of the hunts. Many fishermen admit that they would not continue the cruelty if it were not for the high prices offered for live wild dolphins.

Watch a video of the capture of dolphins during Japan's bloody drive fisheries below:
Please be aware that this footage is very graphic and disturbing.

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