To scientists:
In 2006 a group of scientists concerned with the animal welfare and conservation impacts of dolphin hunting issued a petition addressed to the Japanese government urging it to put an end to drive hunts taking place in the Japanese town of Taiji. The petition has so far gathered the signatures of over 200 members of the international community of marine mammal scientists, veterinarians and conservation biologists.
A veterinary analysis of the killing method used in Taiji, which involves the repeated insertion of a metal rod to cut the spinal cord without anaesthesia, concluded that it would register "at the highest level of gross trauma, pain, and distress". The report, which was published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science in 2013, is available here.
I urge you to do as I've done and add your signature to the international community of scientists calling for the immediate discontinuation of the cruel and unethical practice of dolphin drive hunting.
G.J.V. Nossal AC
