The document summarizes the problem of dolphin hunting and slaughter in Taiji, Japan. Hundreds and even thousands of dolphins and small whales are killed each year during a six-month hunting season. The dolphins are herded into a hidden cove and killed inhumanely using harpoons, often taking a long time to die from blood loss. The reasons given for the hunt are for food and pest control, but the meat contains high mercury levels and the real reasons are questionable. The documentary film The Cove exposes the secret slaughter.