250 plus Bottlenose dolphins were held in the killing cove for over 19 hours. This morning after sunrise, dolphin killers and local dolphin trainers entered the cove via skiff. As the small boats drifted past the massive pod of dolphins, the fear and panic could be felt and seen as the dolphins began to thrash and spy hop. An unsettling feeling knowing their fate was moments away. The captive selection began shortly after 7am this morning as the two pods were further divided to make it easier for the killers to maneuver to ward the shore. Babies were separated from their mothers and herded under the tarps. The first of the captives that was taken this morning was the rare white bottlenose calf. The killers hid the baby dolphin under a tarp and transferred immediately to Taiji Whale Museum. A total of 25 dolphins were kidnapped from the cove during the eight-hour captive selection today.

One dolphin did not survive the traumatic process and was dragged to the butcher house. The killers held up a giant tarp to hide the carcass from our cameras. All three captive facilities: Dolphin Base, Hotel Dolphin Resort and Taiji Whale Museum had trainers in the cove. Taiji Whale Museum transferred 3 dolphins by truck and 2 by skiff. The rest of the dolphins were placed in the harbor holding pens. No dolphins were slaughtered today. The remaining 200 plus pod will be left divided and will be held for a second night in the shallow waters of the cove until the captive selection will resume at approximately 7am tomorrow morning.