Dolphin Drive Hunts occur in the village of Taiji. The Japanese government permits a small number of fishermen to herd thousands of dolphins and other small whales into shallow coves where they are violently butchered with knives and clubs.
Each year during a period from September to April, thousands of dolphins and whales are slaughtered in the dolphin drive hunts. Many people in Japan are unaware of this brutally inhumane practice because the fishermen go to great lengths to hide the hunts, which have been under fire from conservation and animal welfare groups for years.
Scientific evidence on dolphins confirms that they are highly intelligent, aware, sentient, and emotional mammals with closely bonded social lives and important intergenerational cultural traditions. The drives inflict unjustifiable pain and suffering on animals whose psychology is not unlike our own. A coalition of marine scientists and zoo and aquarium professionals has launched a campaign to halt Japan's annual "dolphin drive." Act for Dolphins is led by scientists seeking to raise awareness and bring an end to the Taiji slaughter.