Fewer Dolphins Killed, but More Bottlenoses Abducted in 2025 in Taiji
Another bloody dolphin hunt season has come to a close in Taiji, Japan. Based on reports from activists on the ground, including Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project and Japanese animal advocates, the hunt ended on February 28 with 94 dolphins selected to be taken captive and likely sold to marine parks and 286 slaughtered, as reported by Ceta-Base. Two more dolphins died due to injuries sustained while being driven into Taiji’s infamous killing cove. Activists are unable to count the number of animals who are released but die later from injuries and trauma or the number of dependent calves who die after losing their mothers. And the damage to these close-knit families is immeasurable.
Fewer dolphins were killed this season than in any other year since Dolphin Project began monitoring the hunts, down from 401 slaughtered during last year’s drive and 547 in 2020-2021, according to data compiled by the group. However, more bottlenose dolphins—those who are most often used by marine parks and dolphin encounters—were taken from their homes and families, ending a three-year decline.
On-site advocates heard that dolphin hunters are concerned that climate change may be impacting the amount of plankton in the area, meaning fewer fish and fewer dolphins. Pods may also be altering their home ranges and migration routes due to years of being pursued in the waters of Taiji. Dolphin Project’s work to rally the Japanese people against the slaughter could also be having an effect. The reasons why fewer dolphins are being killed each year are complex and unclear. But, concerningly, activists in Taiji also noted that hunters attached yellow tags to many dolphins’ bodies, possibly to help in locating pods in the future. And the uptick in the number of animals taken captive to be sold to the dolphin entertainment industry is cause for serious concern—and immediate action.
Bottlenose dolphins can live up to 40 years or longer in their natural environment. Their brains are larger than those of humans, and they use complex echolocation to navigate the vast ocean. They have highly developed communication skills and respond to signature whistles the same way humans respond to names. But in marine parks, many die far short of their normal life expectancy. Deprived of everything that makes their lives meaningful and forced to exist in tiny concrete tanks, they exhibit abnormal stress-induced behaviors, suffer from weakened immune systems, and often develop bacterial and fungal infections that can be fatal. They’re treated like breeding machines and shuffled between parks like chess pieces. Mothers and babies are commonly torn apart.
The Taiji dolphin slaughter and cruelty to cetaceans exploited for entertainment will end when tourists stop funding them.
Please, if you care about dolphins, don’t buy a ticket to a marine park or swim with them, and urge everyone you know to stay away. PETA offers a list of exciting activities for people who love dolphins but don’t want to harm them. Share this post to spread awareness of the Taiji dolphin drive hunts. And take action for the cetaceans who are already trapped in marine parks for humans’ fleeting amusement.
