Mother and Baby Striped Dolphins December 20,212 Taiji. By SSCS Cove Guardians

As families around the world come together for Christmas celebrations hearts swell as people realize how important family is, how much joy our children bring us, and how lucky we are to have them in our lives. Unfortunately for a pod of striped deep pelagic dolphins their would be no December celebrations, or new year to look forward too thanks to the dolphin hunters of Taiji.

On December 20, 2012 Taiji dolphin hunters drove a pod of 25-30 striped dolphins loaded with mothers and their babies into the cove. These deep-sea dolphins are known for panicking when forced into shore. As the killers dropped the nets the dolphins panicked many throwing themselves on the rocks and becoming entwined in the nets.

Panicked striped dolphins would be shown no mercy. December 20, 2012                             by SSCS Cove Guardians

The chaos began early on as mothers attempted to protect their babies and dolphins panicked rushed onto the rocks becoming entwined in the nets. No mercy would be shown, no help would be given. Instead the entire pod was slowly pushed under the tarps of suffering and shame. Dolphin trainers from the Taiji Whale Museum worked side by side with the dolphin killers under the tarps but no dolphins would be selected. Much like Auschwitz the little family was pushed to their slow deaths, mothers and babies clinging to each other until the very end.

Japanese fishermen claim they kill dolphins instantaneously and without pain. This video WHICH IS EXTREMELY GRAPHIC  shows that it can take 7 minutes for a dolphin to die an agonizing death. The video was taken from an earlier drive at great personal risk by German journalist Dieter Hagmann at Taiji, Japan.

Dolphin bodies lie side by side in death hidden under tarps.                           December 20, 2012. By SSCS Cove Guardians

December has been an ugly month for dolphin pods that have attempted to migrate past Taiji. This small coastal town made famous in the academy award winning film, The Cove continues to kill dolphin families, showing no mercy for mothers or their young. Taiji again gives dolphins the gift of suffering and slow death for yet another Christmas.

Each year the dolphin slaughter of Taiji is monitored and recorded by Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians and Save Japan Dolphins Taiji Cove Monitors. Both can now be found on Facebook and Twitter as they report back to the world exposing the terrible abuses to dolphins in Taiji. The slaughter of dolphins is supported by those sold in the Captivity. Please don’t buy a ticket!