CMS Secretariat Statement on the Taiji Drive Hunt

The Secretariat has received a number of messages from around the world expressing concern at the Taiji dolphin drive hunts.

The CMS Conference of the Parties (COP), the decision-making body of the Convention, adopted in November 2014 a resolution addressing the issue of live captures of cetaceans from the wild for commercial purposes (see CMS Resolution 11.22).  While this resolution does not affect Japan directly, as it is not a Party to CMS, it is however a strong statement by 120 countries against this practice, which helps to finance the drive hunts.

The Secretariat is bound by the mandates from the Parties and by the terms of the Convention.  CMS is exclusively focused on conservation aiming to restore and maintain populations of migratory species.  It is not therefore in a position to intervene in matters relating to animal welfare, such as the methods used to kill dolphins.

Parties to the Convention in other parts of the world are, with the support of the Scientific Council and Secretariat, actively working towards the conservation of several of the species affected by the hunt.  To understand the conservation mechanisms under CMS, please refer to this page:

http://www.cms.int/reports/small_cetaceans/cetacean_conservation.htm.

Last updated on 14 January 2016

Type: 
News
Country: 
Japan
Region: 
Asia
Threats: 
Unsustainable hunting and trapping
Species group: 
Marine mammals