I'm Baaack with a Taiji Update

Picture taken from I Love Dolphins facebook page

WOW!  It's been a while since I've been here but it's good to be back.  So, tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your enemies, share, share, share!
And don't forget to "Like" my Ocean Advocate facebook page
There is a lot to catch up on so I'm hoping to keep the posts coming.

Today I wanted to catch up on the news in Taiji.  The last time I posted about Taiji was late November so here is what's been going on since then...

November 28 there were 7 Risso dolphins killed in the cove
December 2 was a horrific day in the cove!  Sixteen bottlenose dolphins were captured.  Seven were killed and 9 were taken live-capture for various aquariums
Also that day, there were 12 short-finned pilot whales killed
On December 7, 12 Risso dolphins were killed
Fourteen to Fifteen Risso dolphins were killed on December 9.
On December 11, 55-65 Striped dolphins were captured.  One was held captive and the others were killed
12/12 was another devastating day in the cove.  200 bottlenose dolphins were captured.  25 were killed, 101 held captive and 74 were released.
December 20 brought the death of 25-30 more Striped dolphin and December 23 there were 5 more killed.

So far in 2013, there were 14 white-sided dolphins (pictured above) captured for captivity.  One of these died.

In total since the beginning of the season in September...
399 animals have died (33 bottlenose, 1 Pacific white-sided, 102 Risso, 141 Pilot whales, and 122 Striped)
159 have been held captive (132 bottlenose, 14 Pacific white-sided, 9 Risso, 2 Pilot whales and 2 Striped)
286 have been released (134 bottlenose, 4 Risso, 148 Pilot whales)

Although so many have been released, many of them have been discovered dead near the cove due to the stress of the capture.  Several of these have also been juveniles who cannot survive on their own.  The reason for many of them released is that they are too small, but that doesn't mean that the hunters are doing any favors.  These animals released don't count against their quota.