The First Recorded Dolphin Drive Occurred Between 1936 And...

In 1933, the finding of the first recorded dolphin drive occurred between 1936 and 1944. According to the ‘History of Taiji’ these hunts in 1969 were being led in a larger scale, this commencing what influenced the Taiji hunts that are happening today. The main aims of these hunts were to capture pilot whales to be ‘initiated’ as prized attractions for the Taiji Whale Museum. Thus, the dolphin drive was purely for profit, having nothing to do with cultural history. As some local fishermen might claim (Whiting, 2014, para. 6). Taiji is a town in Japan that has become notoriously known for it’s annual dolphin hunting drive held between the months of September until March. During these gruelling 7 months, dolphins are either slaughtered for their meat or taken to captivity where they will spend their lives performing tricks for little to no amounts of food. But alas, as the world views these as a form of animal cruelty and unjust behaviour, community me mbers of Taiji view the hunting’s as a long held tradition. The so-called ‘fisherman’ (a select few) work in unison with wildlife park trainers who would inspect the dolphins personally and chose the one’s that are ‘pretty’ and are able to follow given directions for certain tricks to live their lives in captivity. Which subsequently is just as much as the same fate as their fellow porpoises. The hunters use specific ‘equipment’ when dealing with these animals, banger poles are used to strike against the boat to drive the