A controversial dolphin hunt held in a small Japan town every year was unsuccessful on its first day, but fishermen were returning Friday to once more attempt to corral and kill hundreds of dolphins.
The small Japanese town of Taiji became known for its traditional dolphin hunt when it was featured by "The Cove" documentary, and since then, the annual gathering has drawn environmentalists and others to protest the dolphin slaughter,
The Independent reported.
The first day of the hunt, which is done when fishing vessels drive dolphins into the cove where they are killed, failed to find any of ocean mammals, the British newspaper said.
AFP reported that 12 boats set out, delayed one day by the weather, but failed in their mission.
The Japanese government and others who support the dolphin hunt stand by their stance, saying the dolphin is not an endangered creature, AFP said.
But many are horrified by the idea of killing dolphins, and they posted their views online, many with the hashtag #Tweet4Taiji.
Japan is also garnering criticism for its decision to hunt 51 minke whales off Haikkaido island, the
Portland Press Herald reported. Tokyo officials have said the hunt is to help research, including looking at stomach contents of the mammals, but that hasn't lessened the international outrage over the decision.
"In March 2014, the International Court of Justice in the Hague ordered Japan to halt what Tokyo calls research whaling in the Antarctic, ruling it contravenes a 1986 moratorium on whaling," the newspaper wrote.
After that moratorium, Japan stopped whaling in Antarctica, but continued the practice off the country's coast and in the northwestern Pacific, the
Japan Times said.
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