Dolphin "drive-hunt" starts in western Japan whaling town

This year's dolphin-hunting season began Monday in the western Japan whaling town of Taiji, using the traditional "drive-hunting" method that has been labeled as cruel by animal-rights groups at home and abroad.During the hunt, fishing boats belonging to a local whaling cooperative herd dolphins and small whales into a cove in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, where they are either captured or killed.On Monday, a pod of Risso's dolphins were spotted some 9 kilometers off the coast and 10 were driven to the cove.Each dolphin was about 3 meters long, and they will be consumed as food."It was lucky …READ FULL ARTICLE