Taiji dolphin hunts are fuelled by the tourism industry

Every year from September to March, in a seaside community in Taiji, Japan, pods of dolphins and small whales are hunted down. The animals are driven into ‘the cove’ where they are either slaughtered for their meat or captured to be sold to dolphin entertainment venues.

In our latest report “Waves of Profit: How the Tourism Industry Profits from the Taiji Dolphin Hunts" we investigated the connection between the annual Taiji dolphin hunts and the tourism industry. The report shines a shocking light on how global travel companies selling tickets to venues linked to this inhumane hunt are fuelling this cruelty. 

Six major travel companies, including GetYourGuide, are among those found to be still selling tickets to over 100 tourist entertainment venues across 17 countries that have links to dolphins from the Taiji hunt. 

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Photo: Robert Gilhooly

The link between the Taiji dolphin hunt and tourism 

While many of us have heard about the Taiji dolphin hunts, particularly after watching the documentary “The Cove”, its links to the tourism industry have not been public knowledge. Our shocking new report exposes how the tourism industry profits off the horrific cruelty as travel companies continue to sell tickets to venues with links to sourcing dolphins who were captured from Taiji. 

Our report found the following: 

• 6 global travel companies including GetYourGuide, Groupon, TUI, Trip.com, Klook, and Traveloka promote and sell tickets to venues linked to the Taiji dolphin hunts. 
• 107 entertainment facilities across 17 countries have purchased dolphins originating from these cruel hunts. 
• The practice of trading dolphins between marine parks and utilizing them for captive breeding obscures the direct link to these hunts, suggesting that the actual numbers are likely much higher. 
• Dolphin meat generates around $500-$600 USD per animal, while a fully trained dolphin can earn up to $150,000 USD when sold to an international dolphin entertainment venue.  

The global travel industry significantly contributes to these hunts by marketing captive dolphin entertainment as harmless family fun to unsuspecting visitors, thereby aiding these venues in maintaining their social acceptance.  

Read report

Photo: Robert Gilhooly

Help end dolphin suffering 

The wildlife entertainment industry is based on consumer demand. As a tourist, you have the power to reduce demand and profitability by only supporting travel companies that have an animal welfare policy that doesn’t promote or sell captive dolphin cruelty.  

If you want to witness the magic of dolphins, visit a Whale Heritage Site where animals are protected, and you can experience responsible wild whale and dolphin watching.  

By traveling responsibility, we can all play our part to protect dolphins in their natural ocean home in the wild, where they belong. 

Travel companies must immediately stop offering activities involving captive dolphins and create robust animal welfare policies that put an end to the exploitation of dolphins and other wild animals for entertainment. 

While there’s still a lot of progress needed to stop wild animals from being used for entertainment, the tide is starting to turn against captive dolphin entertainment. Together, we have moved the federal government and several Canadian travel companies to adopt animal welfare policies and stop selling tickets to exploitive animal entertainment, including: 

• In 2019, the Government of Canada banned the capture and breeding of dolphins and whales for tourist entertainment 
• Canadian airline vacation companies Air Transat, Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing committed to phase out their sale and promotion of captive dolphin venues globally. 
• The Travel Corporation and its 30 global travel brands committed to a comprehensive animal welfare policy that prohibits the sale and promotion of all wildlife entertainment. 
• Thanks to World Animal Protection’s global campaign Behind the Smile and over 350,000 of our supporters, Expedia became the latest among travel agencies to stop selling tickets that include dolphin shows. 

Together, we can stop the needless suffering of dolphins exploited in the name of tourism and entertainment. 

It's time for the global community to wake up to what is happening to our dolphins every year here in Taiji, all for the profit of the tourism industry. Make no mistake, irresponsible travel companies are fuelling this hunt, and they are relying on uninformed travellers to continue this brutal practice. Japan's dolphins are not for sale. They play a critical role in our oceans, and we must work together to end their exploitation.” 

- Laila Imai, co-founder of grassroots dolphin protection organisation, Freedom for Dolphins Japan. 

Tell GetYourGuide to stop fueling this cruelty 

Travel companies have the power to stop the wild capture and exploitation of dolphins. They must take responsibility and implement robust animal welfare policies and stop promoting and sending visitors to dolphin entertainment venues.  

GetYourGuide is an international online travel excursion company selling tickets to cruel tourist attractions including venues linked to the Taiji dolphin hunts. 

They are currently ramping up their presence in Canada and with that comes a long list of experiences to venues where wild animals are exploited for profit including dolphin encounters, swim with captive dolphin experiences, and dolphin shows – all of which are detrimental to the dolphins’ welfare.  

If you haven't already, please take action by signing this petition demanding GetYourGuide to stop fueling the brutal capture and trade of dolphins.   

Act now