South Korea Bans Importation of Taiji’s Dolphins

Dolphins caught in Taiji Japan’s notorious drive hunts will no longer be welcome in South Korea. Today, the Ministry of Environment announced a revised bill on the Protection and Management of Wildlife, banning all imports of dolphins captured in such a brutal manner.

Imports will also be restricted if the mammals are captured in areas where wild populations are either unclear, or are in decline.

Wild bottlenose dolphin brutally caught in Taiji’s notorious dolphin hunts. Credit: DolphinProject.com

In Taiji, dolphins are chased, then driven into the cove for the purposes of capture or slaughter. The hunts are relentless, with countless mammals dying during the drives themselves. Dolphins are listed in Appendix II of CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora –  meaning they may not be threatened with extinction today, but may become so unless trade is closely controlled.

Footage of two dolphins arriving to Ulsan Aquarium in South Korea from Taiji, Japan
Credit: Hwang HyunJin

Dolphin Project has supported our South Korean friends and colleagues for many years in their efforts to ban dolphin imports from Taiji. We extend a warm “congratulations” to Hot Pink Dolphins, Korean Animal Welfare Association and Korean Federation for Environmental Movement of Ulsan on their success.

Hot Pink Dolphins at The Cove with Ric O’Barry. Taiji, Japan. Credit: DolphinProject.com

Sources used in this blog:

The CITES Appendices / Cites.org
News1Korea