Will Japanese Ban on Taiji Dolphins Stop Notorious Hunts?
Several Japanese zoos and aquariums voted last week to stop buying and selling dolphins taken during the notorious Taiji roundup, made infamous in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove. Yet animal advocates are dubious that it will stop the slaughter.
The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums has banned the buying and selling of dolphins from the controversial Taiji hunt, made infamous by the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, after years of pressure from animals rights groups.
The organization, which accredits 37 Japanese marine parks, voted for the measure last week under threat of expulsion from the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The international group opposes drive hunts, in which wild dolphins are driven into a confined space and slaughtered. (Related: pictures: "Scenes From Taiji Dolphin Roundup in Japan.")
Each year, during a September through February hunting season, fishermen from the town of Taiji (map) on Japan's southeastern coast round up dolphins and herd them into
