Exclusive: Conservation group Action for Dolphins has lodged a complaint with police, demanding the meat be removed from sale

Marine conservation campaigners have lodged a complaint with police demanding that “toxic” dolphin meat be removed from sale in Japan, after a test showed a sample contained levels of mercury up to 100 times higher than the government’s recommended safe level.

Action for Dolphins (AFD), a nonprofit based in Australia, filed the complaint with police in central Japan this month, amid expert warnings that regular consumption of dolphin meat could threaten the health of consumers.