The fishermen have changed their slaughtering methods after the Japanese government ruled out their old slaughtering methods as ‘inhumane.’ The new methods of slaughtering the captured dolphins are said to lead to immediate death indicating a shorter death time.
Dolphin trainers assist the fishermen in rounding up the dolphins so the fishermen are able to tie up the flukes of the dolphins to drag them back to the covering at the shallow cove. The fishermen then sever the dolphins’ spinal cords at the junction between the occiput and first cervical vertebra which is the location behind the dolphins blowhole. A wooden wedge is driven into the wound to maintain bleeding and minimizing it from seeping out of the dolphin and into the water.
Insertion of a metal rod into a dolphins spinal cord
Wooden wedge driven into a dolphin
Old method of slaughtering the Taiji dolphins Fishermen hooking the dolphins and dragging them onto their boat
…after being harpooned repeatedly
Fishermen with dolphins on their boat
Blood shed from this slaughter of dolphins
In 2022 they’ve again changed their killing method. Diver wrestle the dolphins and put a rope around its’ tail. They attach several dolphins to a boat and drown the panicked dolphins, move their boat on top of them so they can’t get air. It’s horrific. This after the assault during the chase into the cove where they bang a pole that they insert into the water to mess them up. They can’t just go through this and messes with their echo locations. Families freaking out witnessing the torture of their loved ones. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to witness the depth of cruelty. The meat from these dolphins is full of mercury and the town is desperate for their people to eat it. Including school children.