11 Facts about Dolphin Hunts

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1. “Drive hunts” are when dolphins and small whales at sea are herded by boats into a cove area where they are either killed or selected alive for sale to marine parks and aquaria across the globe.^[Whale and Dolphin Conservation. "Dolphin drive hunts." Web Accessed March 16, 2015.]
2. The Japanese hunts are the biggest single slaughter of whales and dolphins in the world involving drive and hand-held harpoon hunts.^[Whale and Dolphin Conservation. "Dolphin drive hunts." Web Accessed March 16, 2015.]
3. It has been documented that some dolphins have taken more than thirty minutes to die.^[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. "Facts About The Drive Hunt." Web Accessed March 16, 2015.]
4. In Japan, curtains are pulled across the shoreline to hide the killing process from the public. Conservationists work to protect endangered and hunted species like dolphins. Send them thank you cards to thank them for their work. Sign up for Wildlife Cards.^[Whale and Dolphin Conservation."The Japanese dolphin hunts." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.]
5. In the cove at Taiji in Japan, some of the dolphins rounded up are selected for use in dolphin shows but many die of shock before they make it to waiting transport.^[Whale and Dolphin Conservation. "Dolphin drive hunts." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.]
6. Japanese 'drive hunts' kill nearly 20,000 dolphins, porpoises and small whales every year.^[Whale and Dolphin Conservation. "The Japanese dolphin hunts." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.]
7. Commercial whaling was outlawed in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission, but dolphin hunts remain legal.^[Whale and Dolphin Conservation. "Whaling." Web Accessed March 14, 2015.]
8. The dolphin hunters make approximately $32,000 USD for each live dolphin they capture. These figures can skyrocket from $32,000 USD up to $250,000 USD for a trained captive dolphin.^[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. "Facts About The Drive Hunt." Web Accessed March 16, 2015.]
9. In the wild, dolphins can live into their 40s and 50s―some have been documented to be more than 90 years old. But more than 80 percent of captive dolphins whose ages could be determined died before they turned 20.^[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "Marine Animal Exhibits: Chlorinated Prisons" Web Accessed March 16, 2015.]
10. In 2009 The Cove, a documentary on dolphin hunting in Japan won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film brought international attention to the issue of dolphin hunting.^[Lackey, Katharine. "Japanese dolphin hunt spurs social media outrage." USA Today. Web Accessed March 16, 2015.]
11. Dolphin meat is sold in stores throughout Japan. What is never included on the label are the levels of mercury, methyl mercury, cadmium, DDT and PCBs. One or more of these contaminants pollute almost all of the dolphin meat for sale in Japan.^[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. "The Japanese Government is Poisoning its Own Citizens." Web Accessed March 18, 2015.]