Fishermen have herded over 250 bottlenose dolphins into a small cove in Taiji, Japan today, where they will be held until the brutal process of selection for the aquarium industry begins shortly.
One of the pod that may also have been captured could be an extremely rare young albino bottlenose dolphin that is known to inhabit the seas around Taiji. This albino dolphin represents considerable monetary value to the fishermen because of its rarity.
The cruel hunts that take place in Taiji’s waters every year were made infamous in 2009 by the Academy Award-winning film, The Cove.
Those dolphins not taken to perform in dolphin shows will either be killed using a spike pushed through the back of their heads, or driven back to the open ocean to join a community stripped of many young dolphins and without many of the elders to guide them.