The Top 100 Documentaries

Out this week, The Cove features Former National Geographic photographer Louis Psihoyos as he employs underwater microphones and high-definition cameras disguised as rocks to lift the lid on the annual slaughter of more than 2,500 dolphins at Taiji, Wakayama, in Japan.

Sonar is used to confuse the helpless mammals and lead them into a cul-de-sac where they’re trapped and killed.

And it gets worse. Since their flesh has such a high concentration of mercury it’s dangerous to eat. So why slaughter them? To mislabel them as whale meat, that’s why.

FACT: The film-makers risked a year in prison if they were caught by the Japanese authorities.