TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

whale to ‘excitement, pain or suffering’ to the point where, in some cases, this may induce exertionalmyopathy, a potentially fatal syndrome (Maas, 2003).The entire ethos of slaughtering cetaceans during whaling operations differs fundamentally from theresponsible attitude now taken by many states towards the slaughtering of food animals. In the UK,for example, legislation requires that animals awaiting slaughter should be inspected and “any animalfound to have experienced pain or suffering during transport or following arrival at the slaughterhouse orknacker’s yard, or which is too young to take solid feed, must be slaughtered immediately” (MAFF, 1995).In contrast, during whaling operations, animals are chosen for slaughter on the basis of proximity tothe vessel, ease of access, or on economic grounds (usually relating to size). No consideration is givento choosing an individual for slaughter on the basis of welfare, indeed the practical difficulties ofwhaling often inhibit this, although at least in some cases a whale that has been injured and thenbroken free from the harpoon or line may be pursued and killed. It may be argued that the killing ofsuckling humpback calves in order to entice a lactating female closer to a whaling vessel, a historicalpractice in the St Vincent hunt, demonstrated a disregard for the welfare of both the female and thecalf taken.In relation to the general treatment of animals during slaughter, UK legislation further prescribes that“no person shall strike or apply pressure to any particularly sensitive part of the body of an animal, nortwist or break the tail, or grasp the eye(s) of any animal” (MAFF 1995). Such safeguards against injuryto more sensitive parts of the body do not exist for whaling operations, and although whalers mayaim for the head or thorax (depending on the type of whaling conducted) harpoons and bullets canenter any region of the body, causing a variety of different wounds. Moreover, in the Faroese drivehunts a blunt ended gaff is placed in the blowhole in order to secure the cetacean. The blowhole is aregion with a rich nerve supply and is likely to be very sensitive to pressure and to trauma.A COMPARISON BETWEEN SLAUGHTERHOUSES AND METHODS USED DURING WHALING95Use of competent well-trained, caring personnelThe achievement of high standards of animal welfare requires an awareness of the physical andpsychological needs of the animals involved. It also requires responsible and responsive management;informed, skilled and conscientious stockmanship; considerate handling and transport; and humaneslaughter (FAWC, 2003).A key component of achieving these aims is that slaughter personnel are competent and properlytrained. EU law requires that such employees possess the necessary skill, ability and professionalknowledge to do their job humanely and efficiently (EU, 1993). UK Slaughtermen, for example,must hold a registered licence that can be revoked on failure to comply with its conditions, or failureto observe other laws concerning animal welfare (MAFF, 1995). Additionally, in every UKslaughterhouse, a competent person is given authority to take action to safeguard welfare.During whaling operations, some degree of training for gunners is required. However, the trainingprocess itself is inherently flawed since training takes place using dead targets. This training processdoes not mimic the many variables that affect the accurate shooting of a live whale at sea(Stachowitsch & Brakes, 2003). This potential for error was illustrated in a report by Ishikawa (2002)regarding the 2001/2002 JARPA season – “TTD and instantaneous death rate of whales taken by thenew gunners were, on average, worse than that for whales taken by experienced gunners”. Simulating themany variables that effect the accurate placement of a ‘clean’ shot is highly complex. Furthermore,