TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

hunt indicate that the whales are secured with the harpoon and left to bleed to death if the harpoon
impact does not kill them immediately (EIA 2003). Female and male whales are targeted regardless
of whether the females may be pregnant or accompanied by a calf.
Evaluation of the killing methods for Dall’s porpoises and Baird’s
beaked whales
Several factors contribute to the high potential for cruelty in these two unregulated Japanese hunts as
well as extended killing times from the first wounding of the animals to final loss of sensibility and
death. The implements and their use in the hunts are not regulated by the Japanese government and
no official training is given to hunters. Research is needed to establish the most effective way of
killing cetaceans in Japan’s coastal waters, so as to prevent unnecessary suffering
Harpoons hit the whales and porpoises in almost random locations on the body because the animals,
the boat and, therefore, the hunter, are usually moving in the swell (see chapter 8). At the same time
the efficacy of the harpoons used has never been evaluated and animals frequently take a long time to
die.
The use of electricity in the Dall’s porpoise hunt is haphazard and unregulated. Some porpoises can
therefore be ‘burnt’ by the electrical charge and not stunned, due to the weakness of the charge or the
ineffective placement of the electrode (EIA 1999).
The effectiveness of the methods used to slaughter the whales and porpoises if they are not killed by
the impact of the harpoon has never been evaluated to ensure the animals lose sensibility and die as
quickly as possible.
Conclusion
Small cetacean hunts carried out worldwide present a number of significant welfare and conservation
concerns. It has been difficult for the global community, through the IWC, to examine these hunts due
to failure of many countries to recognise the authority of the IWC in the area of small cetaceans.
Nonetheless, available information strongly suggests that the capture and slaughter techniques used are
not acceptable to most observers, and to the international community, on welfare grounds. In addition,
small cetacean hunting provides an alternative source of cetacean meat and blubber for the consumer,
and this helps to maintain the market in whale products despite the commercial whaling moratorium.
References
Amos, B., Bloch, D., Desportes, G., Majerus, T.O.M., Bancroft, D.R., Barrett, J.A. and Dover, G.A. 1993.
Biology of Northern Hemisphere Pilot Whales. International Whaling Commission Special Issue.
Anon 1998. Diet recommendation concerning pilot whale meat and blubber. Faroe Island, Dep. Occupational and
Public Health, Chief Medial Officer, Advisory Note Health Warning Doc.
Associated Press, 25 March 2003. Norway Resumes Exporting Whale Meat To Faroe Islands.
Braund, R., Freeman, M.M.R. and Iwasaki, M. 1989. Contemporary Sociocultural Characteristics of Japanese
Small-Type Coastal Whaling. IWC 41/TC/41/STW1.
Cameron, J. 1990. International Whaling Commission Competence Over Small Cetaceans. The Global War
Against Small Cetaceans. A Report by the Environmental Investigation Agency.
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