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A water park where visitors will be to swim with wild dolphins before sitting down to eat the meat of the mammal is being planned in Japan. The controversial tourist trap has been announced by town of Taiji in the south-east of the country which is already known for its mass dolphin hunts which turn the shoreline blood red. The fishing town was made famous when an Oscar-winning documentary called 'The Cove' revealed how the animals are rounded up in the sea before being stabbed to death for their meat. But rather than bowing to global pressure to ban the practice after the film was released in 2009, Taiji officials say they want to capitalise on their dolphin trade by keeping some alive for entertainment in a sealed off 'safari' part of their bay while others are killed for catering. Masaki Wada, a government official for the town, said: 'We already use dolphins and small whales as a source of tourism in the cove where dolphin-hunting takes place. 'In summer swimmers can enjoy watching the mammals that are released from a partitioned-off space. 'But we plan to do it on a larger scale. This is part of Taiji's long-term plan of making the whole town a park, where you can enjoy watching marine mammals while tasting various marine products, including whale and dolphin meat' The attraction will be separate from Hatakejiri Bay, the place into which local fishermen corral dolphins, select a few dozen for sale and slaughter the rest for meat. If the plan goes ahead, a whale safari park stretching roughly 69 acres will be created by putting nets up around the entrance to Moriura Bay which is in the north west of the town. Black whales and bottlenose dolphins caught in waters near the town would be released into the area, which would be developed as a nature park. Officials are looking to open part of the park within five years, Wada said. Wakayama prefecture, in which the town is located, said the town caught 1,277 dolphins in 2012 and has licence to capture 2,026 this season, which began in September and runs until August. Tokyo-based conservationist group Iruka & Kujira (Dolphin & Whale) Action Network criticised the plans. Nanami Kurasawa, secretary general of the group said: 'Marine mammals migrate across oceans, and international public opinion is that wildlife should be allowed to live as they are. 'The plan will only ignite more protests over dolphin-hunting.' Despite international outrage, however, locals in Taiji argue that dolphin-hunting is part of a 400-year-old whaling and culinary tradition. Japan regularly draws criticism for its annual whale hunt in the Antarctic, with Australia bringing the issue to the International Court of Justice this year. Tokyo defends the practice as internationally legal 'scientific research'. The 2009 film "The Cove" brought Taiji to worldwide attention, winning an Oscar the following year, after graphically showing the killing of dozens of trapped animals, including by using underwater cameras. Activists continue to visit the town to protest the hunt. Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2455754/Japan-open-water-park-watch-EAT-dolphins.html