Activists on Sea Shepherd claim biggest hunt for years killed around 40 of the 250 trapped dolphins with another 50 sold on to aquariums

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Japanese fishermen have finished killing some of the 250 dolphins trapped recently in what environmental activists claim was the biggest roundup they have witnessed in the last four years.

Sea Shepherd, best known for its anti-whaling activities, said the fishermen first selected 52 dolphins to keep alive for sale to aquariums and other customers. They included a rare albino calf and its mother.

Of the rest, about 40 were killed, one became stuck in a net and drowned, and the others were released, it said.

A video released on Tuesday by Sea Shepherd shows dozens of fishermen on boats surveying the dolphins after they were confined to a cove with nets. Divers can be seen holding the dolphins selected for sale and guiding them to nets hanging off the boats.

While other dolphins have been killed since the hunting season began in September, Sea Shepherd said the 250 herded into the cove last Friday represented the largest group it has seen since it began monitoring the hunt.

The annual hunt in the village of Taiji received high-profile criticism when the US ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, tweeted last weekend that she was deeply concerned about the practice.

The fishermen say the hunt is among their customs and brand foreign critics who eat other kinds of meat as hypocrits.

Tokyo defended the annual dolphin hunt on Monday, saying it is carried out in accordance with the law.

The hunt was the subject of the Academy Award-winning 2009 film The Cove.