Shocking images have emerged of a brutal yet legal dolphin drive hunt in Japan.

Despite being considered one of the most gentle and intelligent creatures on the planet, thousands of dolphins are still captured or killed every year.

The drive hunts see hundreds of the mammals chased, rounded up and slaughtered over a period of hours or even days, while others are dragged away to be sold for up to $100,000 each to marine parks around the world.

In the Japanese fishing village of Taiji, fishermen are rounding up and slaughtering hundreds and even thousands of dolphins right now.

After driving pods of dolphins into shallow coves, the fishermen kill the dolphins, slashing their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. Thrashing about, the dolphins take as long as six minutes to die. The water turns red with their blood and the air fills with their screams.

This brutal massacre — the largest scale dolphin kill in the world — goes on for six months of every year. Even more shocking, the captive dolphin industry is an accomplice to the kill.

Taiji Dolphins

Save Taiji Dolphins Campaign

---

Remember...Always look on the bright side of life.