LIA director Ren Yabuki witnessed the killing. "It violently thrashed as blood splattered around, but the fishermen were laughing while working," he told 9news.com.au. "I witnessed the agony and my hands were trembling." The Taiji dolphin hunts run from September 1 to February 28. Nine species are permitted to be killed and caught. Minke whales are not listed as one. The hunt quota is broken down by species.(Dolphin Project) Mr Yabuki explained the rules around capturing minke whales are complicated as they're a species that falls under commercial whaling. However, that does not make the killing at Taiji illegal, he explained.