Japanese fisherman have captured a rare albino dolphin as part of the controversial hunt, according to animal welfare activists monitoring hunt.
The young albino was among a pod of Risso’s dolphin cornered over the weekend in Taiji, the Japanese cove that is under watch by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Eleven dolphins were killed in the latest catch, while three babies were dumped out to sea and the albino and another dolphin will be sent to a lifetime in captivity, according to the group.
Karen Hagen, a veteran volunteer with the group’s Cove Guardians, has now witnessed and documented the capture of two rare albino dolphins. The other came last January.
“It is horribly sad to see another albino dolphin taken by the killers here in Taiji. These rare, beautiful, and unique animals will spend the rest of their days confined to small tanks, where they will live out their shortened lives performing tricks for food,” she said in a statement.
The total number of pods destroyed this season is now 15 and the number of animals slaughtered stand at about 170, according to Sea Shepherd.
The secretive hunt jumped into world consciousness after the Oscar winning documentary The Cove hit theatres in 2009. This is Sea Shepherd’s fifth season of its so-called Infinite Patience observation mission.
