Japanese association bans 'cruel capture' of dolphins in hunts for aquariums
'Cruel' method used to capture creatures in contravention of global association’s code of ethics
Shiro, a Risso's dolphin, jumps in front of holidaymakers in a small ocean cove in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture Photo: AP
By Julian Ryall, Tokyo
9:39AM BST 21 May 2015
The “cruel” capture of dolphins through “drive hunts” has been banned for members of the organisation that represents Japan’s zoos and aquariums under the threat of expulsion from World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
After a vote on Wednesday, the 152-strong Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) announced that members would no longer be permitted to purchase dolphins caught off the town of Taiji, in south-west Japan.
The technique used by local fishermen to capture the dolphins has been criticised by the Switzerland-based association, which suspended JAZA’s membership in April, as being in violation of its code of ethics and animal welfare.
Once a pod of dolphins has been sighted, it is surrounded by fishermen who bang metal pipes on the sides of their small boats, interfering with the creatures’ sonar. The fishermen herd the dolphins into a cove where the majority are butchered, while a few are selected to be sold to aquariums in Japan and abroad.
The slaughter of up to 2,000 dolphins every year at Taiji was the topic of the 2009 award-winning documentary The Cove.
Kazutoshi Arai, the head of the Japanese association, made it clear that JAZA disagrees with the international body’s position.
• Japan releases dolphins after outcry over slaughter
"We do not think it is cruel to take wild dolphins,” he told a press conference in Tokyo. “But as we have reached this conclusion, we now need to steer our policy towards breeding."
Experts estimate that just 12 per cent of dolphins in Japanese aquariums have been bred in captivity, as opposed to 70 per cent in the United States.
Kazutaka Sangen, the mayor of Taiji, told national broadcaster NHK that JAZA’s decision is “very regrettable” and pointed out that drive hunts are legal in Japan and should therefore continue.
That was echoed by Yoshimasa Hayashi, the fisheries minister, who expressed hope that the annual hunt will continue. He added that the decision is likely to have a limited impact on Taiji’s business as many aquariums around the world are not members of WAZA.
Animal rights campaigners have welcomed the decision, but agree that there are still may concerns about the trade in dolphins in Japan.
“This decision is only one step,” Nanami Kurosawa, of the Dolphin and Whale Action Network, told The Telegraph.
“We need to have a discussion in Japan about the whole idea of capturing dolphins and putting them in small tanks,” she said, adding that there are concerns that the 43 aquariums that voted against bowing to WAZA’s ultimatum might choose to leave the organisation and continue the trade in live dolphins.
