Japan's annual bottlenose dolphin hunt came to a close on Tuesday as fisherman killed at least 30 in the Taiji cove area where 200 dolphins were reportedly held.
The fisherman used a tarpaulin to shield the slaughter from reporters, TV cameras and activists. However, blood seeped out from under the cover for all to see.
The Japanese tradition gained attention in the West after the Oscar-nominated 2009 film, The Cove, brought to light the grisly practice that happens every year in Taiji, which is located in the western Wakayama prefecture.
However, despite strong criticism, the fisherman pressed on with this year's hunt as Japanese officials defended the event, calling it "a tradition." The Japanese government this year allowed for the hunting of 2,026 small porpoises and dolphins.
The fishermen herd the dolphins with boats and then kill the animals by inserting a metal rod into their spinal cords and letting them bleed out and suffocate.
Though Japanese media outlets didn't widely cover this year's killings, they did focus on a Jan. 17 tweet from newly installed U.S. ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, who condemned the practice.
Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing. USG opposes drive hunt fisheries.
— キャロライン・ケネディ駐日米国大使 (@CarolineKennedy) January 18, 2014
“Dolphin fishing is a form of traditional fishing in our country,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said in response to Kennedy’s tweet. “We will explain Japan’s position to the American side.”
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine wildlife conservation organization, livestreamed the events in the cove as well as posted regular updates to Twitter.
"These dolphins do not belong to Japan. They belong to all of us — to the oceans and the planet and they matter in their own right," the organization said in a statement.