TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

Welfare and the modern IWC
From 1980 onwards, the issue of humane killing has been regularly discussed at the IWC. So as to
avoid unnecessary suffering, in 1984, the Commission backed the Technical Committee’s
recommendation that the use of electricity, drugs and high-pressure gases were not suitable methods
for killing whales. Killing methods used in Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling were discussed and some
improvements made, although much concern remains regarding the protracted death times reported
from these operations (chapter 6). Since 1992, regular workshops on humane killing have been
convened and an IWC resolution against the use of the cruelly ineffective electric lance was adopted
in 1994 leading to Japan voluntarily discontinuing its use in 1997. However, the degree of
cooperation from whaling nations in providing data, and the ‘quality’ of the data provided on killing
methods has often remained poor (chapter 6).
Since 1993, the IWC has been developing a Revised Management Scheme (RMS), a set of
management rules for whaling that must be agreed before any consideration can be given to lifting
the ongoing moratorium on commercial whaling. However, the RMS contains no welfare provisions.
In 1996, the UK proposed some guidelines for collecting data that could be incorporated into the
RMS. A formal protocol for the collection of welfare data was proposed by the UK in 2001 (IWC
2001). However, the proposal met fierce opposition from the whalers and as yet no agreement has
been reached on its adoption.
Conclusion
The inherent cruelty which is thought to exist within whaling remains a potent argument against this
industry and yet for the first three decades of its existence, the IWC seems to have not fully addressed
these welfare issues to prevent cruelty. The failure to address welfare concerns in whaling operations
appears to have played a significant role in the IWC’s decision to introduce the moratorium on
commercial whaling that exists today.
Despite apparent improvements in estimated times to death (TTDs), as reported by some whaling
nations, the question of how to determine the point of insensibility and death in whales remains
unresolved (chapter 11). Consequently, any estimated death times are not considered to be reliable.
Over the years, the IWC has focused its efforts upon reducing TTDs, rather than addressing the issue
of the pain and suffering inflicted on the target animal, both during the pursuit and by injuries
sustained from the killing method. Additionally, the killing methods used by subsistence hunters for
both large and small cetaceans are also cause for concern (chapter 6). Progress is very slow in
improving the humaneness of these hunts. Unfortunately, some IWC contracting governments are
increasingly reluctant to cooperate with the IWC on issues relating to small cetaceans or humane
killing.
The future of animal welfare considerations within the IWC currently depends to a certain extent on
reaching an agreement on a data collection protocol on welfare proposed by the United Kingdom,
but this has so far been vigorously resisted by the whalers. The protocol, entitled ‘Suggested
Guidelines for Collecting Data on Humane Killing of Whales’ will only become operative if the
Revised Management Scheme (RMS) is agreed and adopted, and the existing moratorium on
commercial whaling is lifted. However, the debate about the accuracy of present IWC criteria used
for determining insensibility and death in cetaceans is yet to be resolved. In these circumstances, if
the RMS is agreed and adopted and the commercial whaling moratorium is lifted, the inherent
THE IWC AND WHALE WELFARE
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