On this date, fishermen began chasing into Futo fishing port on the Izu Peninsula over 200 bottlenose dolphins (three times the allotted quota) and about 50 false killer whales, for which there was no quota at all. They began selling them to aquariums. Those not sold were, over two days, slaughtered and butchered for sale as meat.
Videotape (RealVideo) of the slaughter shot by an eyewitness.
Background details of this capture & slaughter from an on-site investigation entitled: "A Report on the 1996 Dolphin-Catch-QuotaViolation at Futo Fishing Harbor." This report was written by Sake Hemmi and issued by the Elsa Nature Conservancy and Institute for Environmental Science and Culture.
Japanese fishermen captured a pod of killer whales and rounded up ten killer whales and drove them into the shallow water bays of Taiji. Five whales were taken to Japanese marine parks. To date, two of these whales have died--a female and her calf. Japanese and international animal groups continue to press for the release of the remaining three whales.
Videotape of the capture and roundup of the killer whales at TaijiFor up to date reports on the status of the Taiji orcas, see the Taiji Orca Alert web site.
Jim McBain and Brad Andrews, Sea World executives