Controversial dolphin hunt starts amid protest in Japan
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Tokyo (dpa) - The first dolphin hunt of the season started in western Japan Thursday, as more than a dozen protesters urged local fishermen to halt the controversial annual drive hunt, a report said.
The fishermen went ahead with the hunt off Taiji town, Wakayama prefecture, after holding off for two days due to bad weather, but came back empty-handed, Kyodo News agency reported.
The traditional practice, which drives dolphins into a bay with loud sounds before they are killed by men standing in the surf, has been the subject of international criticism.
In May, the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums banned its members from buying dolphins sourced from the Taiji hunts.
The decision was made after the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums threatened to expel the Japanese body if its members continue to take dolphins captured in the "cruel" method.
The annual Taiji hunt also featured in the 2009 Academy Award-winning film The Cove.
Richard O'Barry, a long time US activist involved in the documentary was arrested near Taiji for not carrying his passport, Kyodo said.
He has admitted that he did not have the travel document with him when the police questioned him.
The activist was in the region to apparently protest the hunts, local media reported.
