The Japanese government is allowing a few fishermen to slaughter thousands of dolphins and small whales in drive hunts

During drive hunts, fishermen panic and confuse migrating pods of dolphins and other small whales with loud banging, then herd them, by the hundreds, into shallow coves, and then butcher them one by one. Every year, some 20,000 small cetaceans of several species, some of which are endangered, including bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, spotted dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, white-sided dolphins, and false killer whales, are killed or taken in the drives, sometimes illegally. The hunts have been universally condemned by marine experts around the world as brutal, inhumane, and unsustainable, but pleas to stop them have fallen on deaf ears. Therefore, we, marine scientists and zoo and aquarium professionals, are asking for your support to bring this unconscionable practice to an end. [More]