A pod of more than 100 bottlenose dolphins have been seen being herded into a notorious Japanese cove.
Life Investigation Agency, in partnership with the Dolphin Project, have broadcast confronting images of the cetaceans being rounded up in Taiji, in the Wakayama Prefecture
According to 9News, the dolphins are now destined to spend the rest of their lives at marine parks and aquariums around the world.
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LIA director Ren Yabuki told the news outlet: "Dolphins that were selected were thrashing in resistance. The dolphins were very stressed, and many of them slapped the surface of the water with their tail flukes.
"They were clicking and whistling at each other, communicating with each other and calling out to the parts of the pod that were separated by some of the nets night and day.
"It was very saddening to hear them crying out to each other. I've been working on the dolphin trade for a long time, but I had never heard them crying out like this."
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Several juveniles were caught up in the capture and at least one dolphin has died.
It comes less than a month after concerning images showed a fisherman caught holding a baby dolphin under the water. Speaking to 9News, Ren Yakubi said it was chilling watching the events play out in front of him.
"I feel so sad about seeing the baby dolphin killed. My blood ran backwards," he said.
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"The baby dolphins appeared to be drowning and weakening. However, I don't know [how they were killed] because it was actually done under a grey sheet. There was no reason the babies are killed more than the bigger dolphins."
He reckons he's witnessed several calves killed during this year's hunt and believes around 32 have been slaughtered in the last two years.
The Taiji hunt sees boats full of fisherman entrapping the sea mammals by gathering them into a cove in Taiji, a small coastal town in Wakayama Prefecture. They catch the dolphins by lowering metal poles into the water and banging them with hammers.
Featured Image Credit: LIA/Dolphin ProjectTopics: Animals