Dolphin hunt at Futo! Let's take ACTION to protest.

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Created on Friday, 13 October 2000 11:10

A dolphin hunt at Futo Port in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan was conducted on Wednesday, Oct.13, 1999.

You can see some Movies here.

The next morning, Oct.14, the capture started. First, they sorted out the dolphins for aquariums.While the first two dolphins were being chosen, they died of shock.

In the end, fishermen captured 75 and 6 of them were sent to two aquariums. That means 69 were killed to sell as food. The way they were killed was cruel. The dolphins floundered and squirmed around the slaughterhouse for a long time.

This time two prefectural officers came to watch and confirm the number.

The end result was that the fishermen captured 75 bottlenose dolphins and 6 of them were sent to two aquariums. The rest of them were killed to sell as food.

The quota is not based on ecology. It has been based on the capture of previous years since1993.

　　

Three main problems

1. There is a quota of capture for each species of dolphins and whales which is decided by the government for each prefecture. We really doubt whether the quota is appropriate. We also doubt if fishermen always keep the rule of annual quota. We often hear rumors about poaching here and there.
2. Contamination of dolphins must be seriously considered, not only for their own health but also for the health of people who eat them. Surprisingly, most Japanese don't know about the strong possibility that food at nearby supermarkets is contaminated.
3. The way they are captured, "drive fishery", is NOT humane at all. Dolphins are herded into small bays, and threatened with loud noises made by hammering metal sticks together. Usually, they are injured while being selected by the fishermen's long hooked tools. Also this time, many in the inner pen suffered terrible injuries such as lost eyes. They might not survive after their release.