TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN WHALING ACTIVITIES
10 Euthanasia of cetaceans
Philippa Brakes, Marine Consultant, c/o WDCS (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society),
Chippenham, UK.
Craig Bamber, Ballistics Consultant to the Department of Conservation, Wellington, New
Zealand.
A number of different methods are used worldwide for the euthanasia of cetaceans. This reflects the
many practical difficulties associated with euthanasing these large marine mammals. This chapter
endeavours to highlight how, and why, these difficulties occur during the euthanasia of cetaceans on
the beach and during whaling activities.
Euthanasia is defined as: “Humane destruction; the killing of an animal without causing fear or
suffering” (Hine 1988). ‘Humane’ is further defined as ‘inflicting as little pain as possible’ (Hanks
1988), and there is, therefore, an expectation that euthanasia should be conducted using best
practice; to ensure that it is as swift and as ‘humane’ as possible. There are international precedents
for the humane slaughter of many species, irrespective of whether they are being killed for food or in
‘acts of mercy’ (chapter 14). The motivation for euthanasia of stranded cetaceans is to alleviate
suffering, which contrasts with the motivation for killing cetaceans for food. It is proposed that the
principles of efficient euthanasia, which have been developed for stranded cetaceans, should also be
applied to cetaceans killed for other purposes.
In many countries, cetacean strandings have a high media profile, and there is often public
expectation that live animals will either be refloated, or humanely euthanased where refloating is not
possible. However, among veterinary professionals, there is neither global agreement on the most
effective methods to use, nor are there global standards for euthanasia of stranded cetaceans. This is
due to both the practical difficulties of administering euthanasia to large marine mammals on the
beach and also to the difficulties inherent in determining the point of death (see chapter 11) and
consequently accurately assessing the efficiency of any given method of euthanasia.
Euthanasia of stranded cetaceans
There are a variety of practical difficulties associated with the euthanasia of stranded cetaceans. These
include the constraints of tide and weather conditions, access to both the shoreline and the animal,
and even the gradient of the shore. Furthermore, depending on location, there are often issues of
crowd control that must be addressed, ensuring that public safety remains a priority. In some
instances, certain euthanasia methods, such as the use of firearms, may be prohibited due to the
circumstances of the stranding, in which case the animal may be left to die naturally – i.e. without
further human intervention, but usually with protection from malicious acts.
There are various guidelines for the euthanasia of stranded cetaceans in different regions of the world.
Although the recommendations may vary to some degree, they are consistent in their attempt to
render compromised cetaceans dead as swiftly as possible. In the UK, for example, the principle