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The annual slaughter of bottlenose dolphins in an infamous Japanese cove has started and is expected to finish Tuesday, the local Taiji fishermen's union said, according to CNN.

About 500 dolphins were driven into the cove this year, a larger number than usual. A fisherman who is a union board member, and who did not want to be named, told CNN that the total number of dolphins to be captured or slaughtered was less than 100, and that the rest would be released.

The annual event is a focal point of the Taiji community's dolphin hunting season, which many in the community in southwest Japan view as a long-held tradition.

But the hunt is heavily scrutinized by environmental activists, who have been monitoring activities and livestreaming and tweeting about the latest developments.

In recent days, environmentalist group the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has provided livestreams showing bottlenose dolphins splashing frantically as they tried to escape their human captors. Dolphins separated by nets into smaller partitions bobbed up and down, trying to reach other members of their pod. The group said that the dolphins appeared bloodied, and had had nothing to eat since their capture in Taiji Cove four days ago.

The union representative said that the fishermen had introduced what they considered a "more humane" method of slaughtering the dolphins, cutting their spines on the beach to kill the animals more swiftly and cause them less pain.