What is WWF’s position on dolphin hunts?
23 July 2010
There are some cetacean hunts which WWF does not oppose, such as those in the Arctic, which are undertaken by indigenous peoples, and are necessary for subsistence purposes and are an important part of the traditions and cultures of the indigenous people involved. For example, “aboriginal subsistence whaling” is approved by the IWC in order to meet the subsistence food needs of indigenous communities (e.g. Russia, Alaska and Greenland). The "drive-hunt" hunt in Japan cannot be justified on either of those grounds.
“Drive hunting” dolphins in Japan was once widespread, but in recent times was limited mainly to two villages – Futo in Shizuoka Prefecture, and Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture. Footage of the Futo hunt taken in 1999 raised an international outcry. The Futo hunt was apparently suspended in 2000, although a small drive hunt in 2004 resulted in five dolphins killed, and 14 sent to aquariums. It appears that the drive hunt no longer continues in Futo – Futo village have established a whale and dolphin watching enterprise instead, which it's expected will be a more financially profitable enterprise than hunting. The only place drive hunting for dolphins continues on a large scale in Japan is Taiji, where the footage for ‘The Cove’ was shot.
WWF believes that, as the hunt is not necessary for subsistence or cultural reasons, and as management of the hunt has not been transparent – at present we do not have evidence that the hunt is part of a wildlife management scheme, including population assessment and management, quota designation based on science, and adaptive management – it would seem that a switch in Taiji from dolphin hunting to dolphin and whale watching would be a positive move. If members of the public would like to find out more, we suggest visiting the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society website, as the organisation is actively campaigning on this issue and on the site.
Find out more about WWF's work on dolphin conservation.
