Entities using the name and iconography of Anonymous (EUTNAIOA) and claiming to come from the USA have threatened a series of online attacks against the Japanese government in protest at the continued practice of dolphin hunting in the small town of Taiji.

The online collective launched its OpKillingBay campaign last week and has already released a list of government sites it intends to DDoS.

These include the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries; the Prime Minister’s Office; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the official site of Taiji town.

It is claiming to be preparing a Day of Action on December 1st to protest the dolphin hunt, which is likely to involve further attempts at DDoS-ing and/or defacing the sites.

EUTNAIOA USA also said it would release intercepted government communications apparently revealing a secret program, dubbed DevoX, involving the export of dolphin meat disguised as tinned tuna.

It claims officials in Taiji have bribed central government to allow this export trade, which it says pulls in annual sales of over $850m. The meat is sold by “big name” companies who are complicit in the trade, mainly to Western buyers, the group said.

Meat from dolphins caught in the area is thought to contain potentially dangerously high levels of mercury.

Taiji was made infamous by the 2005 documentary, The Cove, which depicted in graphic scenes the annual slaughter of thousands of dolphins from September to April.

The town has been a centre for dolphin hunting and whaling for hundreds of years, in compliance with Japanese law. ®