As the 2014 – 2015 drive hunt season (lasting from September to March) begins again in Taiji, Japan, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have reported that its Cove Guardian team is on site for the start of the fifth consecutive season of its dolphin and whale defence campaign, ‘Operation Infinite Patience’.
Each year a quota is set by the Taiji Fisherman’s Union, dictating which species of cetacean can be targeted for slaughter and captivity, and how many of each can be taken. The 2014 – 2015 quota has been set to a total of 1,398 cetaceans to be killed or captured. This includes seven species; 114 short-finned pilot whales, 450 striped dolphins, 509 bottlenose dolphins, 261 Risso’s dolphins, 400 Pantropical spotted dolphins, 70 false killer whales, and 134 Pacific white-sided dolphins.
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