Flipper trainer-turned-activist arrested as annual dolphin hunt begins

Animal rights activist Ric O'Barry, who trained dolphins for the TV show Flipper, has been arrested near the town of Taiji as it kicked off its controversial dolphin hunt. The 75-year-old, who campaigns against the annual slaughter, was detained for allegedly failing to carry his passport when he was stopped by police. "We had a report that he was drinking alcohol and driving, so officers were dispatched to find him and check his breath,“ police said. "He smelled like alcohol but the reading on the (breathalyzer) was not high.”

A dead dolphin at Taiji Cove is worth around £260 to the fishermen, most people in Japan do not eat dolphin meat as it contains dangerous levels of heavy metals in fact most of the dolphins killed end up as dog food or fertiliser.

Dominic Dyer, Born Free Foundation

O'Barry, who appeared in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove which drew worldwide attention to the town of Taiji, has frequently visited the community to protest against the dolphin hunt. O'Barry found fame first in the 1960s for catching and training five dolphins for Flipper but has since fought against keeping the mammals in captivity. He will probably have to pay a fine of up to 100,000 yen ($830) and could be detained for up to 48 hours. Police have dispatched more officers to the town for the hunt in anticipation of possible clashes between locals and anti-hunt activists. Bad weather pushed back the first dolphin-killing of the six-month season which opens on September 1 every year.

Asia-Pacific taiji dolphin