Dolphin hunt documentary – Taiji, Japan

February, 25th 2019

Dolphin hunt in Taiji starts from 1st september until end of february next year.
There are many discussion regarding the dolphin hunt, however, no one actually seen the “REAL” dolphin hunts. 
I followed “A Day of the Dolphin Hunt in Taiji” 6:15am-1:57pm

Reported by Mineto Meguro, from LIB (Animal Liberator. net) 
I would be VERY happy if you could spread this page to as many people as possible.
Hope that this chain of compassion, care and goodness towards all the animals.

6:15am On Facebook live: Leaving Dolphin hunt boat

This is on live image of Dolphin hunt boat from Taiji port.

Early morning at 6:00am, Dolphin hunt boats leaves in line to do the dolphin hunt.
At around 12 boats

On the shore, the boats turns 180° looking for dolphins.

Dolphins are migratory they go thruou the Taiji shore on black current.
Dolphins does not belong to Taiji town.

There are two main purposes of dolphin hunts

1. Sell the dead courpse (foods, tradition)
2. Sell the living dolphins (to aquariums, NOT tradition)

They make more money on LIVING sells.

Taiji and pro-hunts insists on tradition (dead ones) but actually what they really need is LIVING sells.
LIVING sells can be sold to the aquarium, resort hotels, dolphins therapy, dolphins touching events, swin with the dolphins, etc.

Half of them are sold to overseas.
Mostly to China.
In the year 2000-2015 they sold to 12 countries – 216 to China, 36 to Ukraine, 35 to South Korea, 15 to Russia, etc.

Many preys are captured in Taiji port and Moriura bay.

Always at around 100-200 dolphins are captured in whole Taiji town. 

Russia captured more than 100 dolphins, but Taiji is worse.
https://news.yahoo.com/russia-battle-free-nearly-100-captured-whales-033412177.html;_ylt=AwrXgSNJcm9ct1MAkR3QtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTEyaWw0MGZtBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjY5NDZfMQRzZWMDc3I-

The activisits are not only considering about the dolphin hunts. 
We also takes breeding seriously.
Breeding is a very irrational acts to make living slaves or products, domestize the wild creatures just for our pleasure.
Zoos and aquariums calls this as “Species Preservation”

Moriura bay in Taiji town is planning to construct a humongous-sized cetacean breeding bay 

I followed the work of “Dolphin project” people in Taiji 
Amazing people who tries to help the dolphins and making records. 
Most of them are vegans. 

In Japan,
They mistakenly thinks that those activists are racists they only attack Japanese. 
They are only protecting dolphins.
But actually it’s not. 

They work in every part of the world such as USA, Mexico, Greece, Feroe islands, etc. 
Protecting every dignity and rights for the animals.

Dolphin Project
Website：https://www.dolphinproject.com/
FB：https://www.facebook.com/RicOBarrysDolphinProject/
Tw：https://twitter.com/Dolphin_Project

9:40am Facebook live : Boat found dolphins

After 3 hours and a half of departure, it seems that they’ve found the dolphins.
Gathering at one point in the sea. 

Black smokes of the boats on horizon, once they found dolphins. 
Motors are full-throttle.
Its hard to detect, but Dolphin project people finds it very fast. 

They start the drive hunt formation from the opposite size from Taiji port. 

Have you seen dolphins playing and swimming along the ship on TV?
Hunters use their natural instinct of playfulness.
They chase, capture, kill and eat the dolphins. 
Spear hunt – they stab harpoons to the dolphins back and kill.

Dolphins pods are made by their family and firends. 
They run away, helping the children or weaker dolphins by mothers and friends swim on both sides to protect. 

9:56am Drive hunt

There are dolphin pods and all around them are fleets.

They are obstructing the dolphins to escape to the sea, and their fleet chase from the back. 

They use “Bangers” its an iron rod with filled oil to bang with a hammer.

Roaring sound in the water. 
Dolphis use ultrasonic sound to communicate and to recognize around them. 
Bangers will confuse and take away those functions from the dolphins. 
They panic and try to run away from the sound. 

Dolphins will panic, swin as fast as they can, that takes energy from them and unables them to breathe. 

Some young male dolphins might be able to run away because they are stronger. 
But mothers who want to protect children or weak ones, they opt to stay even they can escape. 
Hunters knows very well about Dolphin’s compassionate behaviors. 

10:26am COVE : Preparation for hunt

Hunt boat let dolphins towards the COVE.

Block the escape way to capture them all to the cove.

Cove is located 2 min. by car from Taiji port.

About the Cove

Before they were killing in the place nearby the car road and everybody can see the blood-covered ocean in there. 
Because of the movie “The Cove” and the activists work, they started to hide the killing. 
Nodaways, they take the dolphins to the smaller cove, that is hard to see. 
In the cove they do the selection and slaughter. 

Those people are in this place. 

1 Dolphin hunters 
Kill the dolphins and capture those to sell (living)
・ Drive hunt by boat
・ Chasing dolphins to with a small boat (net)
・ Prepare after dolphins comes to the back of the voce. 
・ Entering the ocean, wearing wet suits to slaughter the dolphins. 

2 Dolphin trainers
They do the selections to sell to the aquarium, in othe words, selecting which dolphins to kill. 

3 Activists
Those who wants to help dolphins.

4 Lay people : Locals, tourists, etc. 

5 Police

6 Maritime Security Agency 

On that day some National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Japan Fisheries Research and Education  people came here too. 
※National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, Japan Fisheries Research and Education 
http://fsf.fra.affrc.go.jp/eng/index-e.htm

10:30am Dolphins are captured, some of them escaped.

Boats drove dolphins near the voce
Hunters holding hammer to hit the banger.

Dolphin pod
Boats are coming to the cove. 

Small boats are placing some nets 
Net to capture dolphins not to escape from the cove.

Risso and bottlenose dolphins. 
Famous in the aquariums.
Rissos can swin very deep.
But he is panicking cant breathe well, depriving the energy. 

Some dolphins escaped from the net. 
Great!

Dolphin boat turning with a black smoke. 
Motor full to do the drive hunt. 

10:36 Hunters banging the bangers

Banger is a rod to make Bang-Bang sound. 

Oil is filled inside the metal rod, the tip is larger to dissipate more sound. 
They put this banger into the water and by banging, dolphins wil panic. They catch and drive them by this sound. 

The speed of the sound is 340m in the air but 1500m in the water, is much faster. 
The music and fireworks sound are too close to the dolphins, and diffuse inside the water tank and is tremendeous stress for the dolphins. 
We must know that it may be fun for the humans, but is very painful to the dolphins. 

10:39 Again dolphins were taken into the cove but escaped.

10:40 Dolphins escaped (second time) the boat turns and chase them with a black smoke.

10:40 Facebook on live : Battle for the dolphins.

10:45,30
Again dolphins were chased into the cove. 
Dry, creepy sound of the bangers.
More foreigners are watching than Japanese now.
Dolphin projects are showing this during the hunt season on internet. 

10:47
First net
Total 3 nets. 
First net are placed between the shore and the boulders, once they placed this, the dolphins cannot escape anymore. 

Second net are placed inside the first net to separate the pods. They turn the motor sound towards the dolphins to panic. 

Third net are place inside the second, and in there they select and slaughter. 

10:47.37
Some dolphins escaped. 
We cant see them. 
Maybe they are under the boat to escape. 
Boats are chasing the dolphins. 

10:49.02
Again dolphins are taken back to the cove. 

10:50.40
4th attempt to escape.
Great !

10:51.43
This black-smoke boat are as if doing a war towards the innocent dolphins. 

10:52.41
International Marine Resourse guys laughing at this scene. 

10:53.57
Again, dolphins are chased down to the cove. 

10:54.19
Hunters placing the first net to chase them completely into the net. 

10:56.03
They placed a first net. 

Dolphins captured
They can’t escape anymore

Their destiny has determined – either be killed and eaten or be shown to amuse people for the rest of their lives. 

10:57.22
Hunters chase with the motor sound, placing the second net. 

10:58.55
Pod are coming back
Seems they worry about their friends and families. (boats are still far away, they were not chased)

11:00:28
Second net placed, dolphins captured. 

11.02.23
Hunters started to take away the first net. 
I wasn’t aware at that time but this was to chase more dolphins to kill at at once.

11:11 The dolphins outside of the net were chased

They were outside of the net, worrying about their families, they run away but again they were chased.

11:11 Fifth attempt to escape!

Again they escaped from the net. 

I really wished that they would escape. 
So as everybody in the whole world watching this by Dolphin Project’s internet on-live. 

11:14 Facebook on live : They were chased again.

They are trying to chase more dolphins who opted to stay because they care about their family and friends.

11:19 The rest of the pods were chased down.

They came to the cove. 
Their lives are over

11:23 Last pod to the third net

Threatening with the motor sound and bubbles, to chase them towards the third net.

11:32 Chasing another pods into the second net.

From the first net to the second making net smaller little by little. 

Dolphins are panicked they stranded by themselves to the shore. 
Blowhole of stranded dolphins.
Some dolphins jumpled and hit hardly to the wall.

11:34 Dolphin trainers came for the selection.

Dolphin trainers came to select the dolphins on boat.
Today, there are three boats to transport living dolphins.

What will happen to the living sell dolphins?

Dolphin hunt starts, they will know the Dolphin’s type and if there is an order, they will communicate to the trainers and aquariums.
Trainers comes on boat to the cove to select. 
They prefer female, pretty skin and quiet ones.
Sex discrimination happens in here too.

They wear the wet suits to capture dolphins together with hunters. 
Those not selected will be killed or if they are over quotas, released.
Babies and chilren cannot survive, of course. 
Human children cannot survive without family, neither. 

Dolphin trainer put dolphins on stretchers tie them along the small boat.
To capture then in many places in Taiji.

Activists are deperately begging not to kill them, the dolphin trainers on boat are laughing at them.
They seem SO different then what we see at the dolphin show. 

What happens to the dead corpse dolphins?

Due to the blood-covered cove became world-wide attention and criticized, and to avoid those shocking image, they now use Normay method to kill.
Thrust the harpoon-like tool to the spiral of dolphins.
Twist then to cut the spiral.
After pulling the tool, they put cork-like lid to the wound part. 
They say its a “Humane” way, less pain but
1. Some dolphins could not die, some suffers more than 20 minutes or more. 
2. Because they close the wound part with a cork, dolphins will drown by their own blood. 

11:35 Slave for life or waiting to be slaughtered.

Dolphin trainers destined them to be a slave for their lives. 
Or the hunters will brutally kill them
Dolphins has no idea
No dolphins could go back to the ocean where they belong
Whichever that will be, this is a hell.

11:44 Facebook on live: Other Dolphin trainers comes to select

They place a tarp to do the selection and killing, in order to avoid the activists will film to show the rest of the world.

12:08 Dolphins transportation – 1st boat.

They pour water with a dipper.
To wash their blood and to protect the skin.
Some dolphins were bleeding.
Beautiful skin dolphins can be sold at a very high price.
Some local aquarium or dolphin swin are not very beautiful.
High-end places dolphins has prettier skin.
Female can be sold at high prices because they will have babies. 
Male are cheaper.
Low-cost concentration camps they use buy male dolphins and cast away.

12:12 Dolphin trainers transports dolphins – 2nd boat.

Dolphin trainers captures dolphins.
Dolphins face naturally seems as if they are smiling, but actually this is what they are going through. 

12:13 Face book live: Living dolphins

On the previous day, 12 Rough-toothed dolphins were captured to be sold at the aquarium.
If one dolphin-person are sold ¥5,000,000 yens, total sales ¥60.000.000 ($600.000 USD) 

Risso’s and bottlenose were hunted today. 
Dolphin trainers taking them away along the boat.

Isana Fishermen’s association, Taiji Whale Museum, Taiji development company, Dolphin selling company are getting a huge profit.
Aquariums can get great merchantise. 

Dolphins will be captured for good in this small tank, amusing humans and die. 
Do you really want to go to the dolphin show?

12:27 Facebook on live : Some dolphins are taken away, some are killed.

2 Risso’s dolphins and 6 bottle nose dolphins were taken away.
The rest of Risso’s are shoving onto the back of the cove. 
They are selecting and killing at the same time, so the dolphins are seeing and very aware that their friends and families are murdered and soon it will be his or her turn.

Motor sound, they are desperate to run away but is impossible to do so.

It freaks me out to even think about if this happens to me or to my family or friends. 

13:03 Last Risso’s dolphins will be chased by 3 small boats.

There are silence after three boats chased them away.

But in the back of the cove, the dolphins are harpooned and quietly writhe in agony.

13:06 Taking away the third net.

End of dolphin hunt.

13:11 Dolphin trainers taking the dolphins aout.

Transporting the living sell dolphins on both sides.

In the tank of the aquarium you will find a crane in somewhere this crane is used to put dolphins into the tank.

13:24 1st boat with dead dolphins.

This is for the meat-selling. you see some fins, hunters are stepping on vinyl sheets to cover the dead ones.

In Taiji, they label as Risso’s meat, Bottlenose meat, but in other areas of Japan, they label as “Whale meat” 

Dolphins are part of the whale and is less than 4 metres. 

13:25 Small boat will pass away the dead corpse.

Under the vinyl sheet so that nobody can take photos.

Small boat will drag the body to the Taiji port or directly give to the Dolphin boats

Easy to find the dead body boat because they are so slow.

13:27 Second boat with the dead corpse.

Second small boats with a dead corpse and some hunters to go back to the Taiji port. 

13:42 Dolphins trainers chit-chatting on the boat.

Move to Taiji Port.

On the first boat some dolphin trainers are on board. 

This trainers on top of the victims were doing capture process. 
They are going toward the port, so some victims are also on the boat. 
Talking and laughing.
They know many dolphins were killed. 
And they were the ones who decide their destiny.

Carrying the dead corpse.
Under the tarps, are the dead dolphins.

13:50 Transporting dead dolphins into the dissection area.

Dead dolphins under the blue vinyl sheets. 
To the dissection area 
There are Risso’s head on the left side of the tarp.

Dolphin boat to drag the dead dolphins.
Big gray ship is for pelagic whaling ship.
Harpoon gun and blue vinyl bag around. 
Harpoon gun thrust into the body of the whale, they will spread into the body and cannot be taken away.
Whales will suffer tremendeously, after after he or she lost all of the energy, they lift the whales onto the ship.

There are 3 types of whalings in Japan.
1 Drive hunt
2 Spear hunt
3 Pelagic whaling Baird’s beaked, Pilot whale, etc.
Taiji does all 3 types of whaling.

13:52 Floating Risso’s dolphins

They were alive just until now.

13:57 Dead Risso’s face

They did all they can to survive.
8 were captured, 19 were killed.

Very sad.

Dibates are going differently between pro-hunts and con-hunts.
Pro’s are talking only from the point of view of the humans. 
But actually, many con-hunts are not only for the dolphin hunts.

We try to protect the rights and liberty of all beings. including the dolphins. 

Those who wants to protect the animals has the point of view of the animals, they are part of the animals, that is why they don’t want humand to kill or hurt, capture them. 

Those who exploit the animals makes any excuses so they can get profits. 
Biggest profit is the meat (dead corpse)
We say it is a tradition to eat meat, is a common sense, we are grateful so it’s okay to eat, environmental issue, sustaining , diversity, etc. etc. these are all human’s excuses.
Those animals who suffer, in pain, frightened are left behind. 

You or calf, which is better in value?
What is the objective, and reasoable explanation that you have more value?
What about you and the dolphins? Pigs? Tunas? or Salamanders?
You are more valuable – This is just an illusion.

We are all one, living on this planet earth.
We are always one-sided, exploiting as we wish. 

Who is the biggest vermin on earth?

We should change now.
Now is a paradigm-shift!

Liberate the animals!