TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

these kills take place (see chapter 8). The significance of these variables and the inadequacies of themethods used result in the poor TTDs and IDRs that are commonly reported (see chapter 6).The proximity of the vessel and the gunner to the whale is variable and is often far from optimal.The optimal distance for euthanasing a large cetacean, as demonstrated during the euthanasia ofstranded cetaceans, is likely to be no more than an arm’s length. During many whaling operations,the gunner must aim at a moving target, surrounded by a moving sea and from a moving platform(chapter 8).There is also growing concern that the active pursuit of whales, may force the escaping cetacean toundertake a degree of exertion for which it is not evolutionarily adapted. This may induce what isreferred to as ‘exertional myopathy’, which may manifest as lethal or sub-lethal disease ordysfunction. Thus, whales that are pursued, but avoid being struck and eventually evade capture,may suffer as a result of this pursuit. It is also possible that some may die as a result of inducedexertional myopathy.As a result, even if more efficient and more species-specific technology could be developed for killingcetaceans on the high seas, the fact that there may always be a percentage of whales that are eitherstruck and lost, or that are pursued and lost without being struck, would remain a serious welfareproblem.Problems associated with the specific biology of whalesAs described in chapter 4, cetaceans are unusual animals and their biology raises ethical as well aswelfare concerns. We still know relatively little about many whale species. This lack of knowledgeincludes a poor understanding of where many populations begin and end, and even of basic cetaceanbiology and behaviour. Where knowledge is adequate, it is apparent that some species – for example,orcas, sperm whales and pilot whales – have highly developed social structures and there is a stronginterdependence between individuals. Skills and specialisations can be seen to pass betweengenerations and, these animals can be said to have cultures as well as societies. This means that theremoval of individuals by hunting may have a significant impact on the wider population becausetheir potential to pass on knowledge (as well as genetic diversity) is removed. Similarly, the removalof entire groups or populations may mean the removal of entire ways of life or cetacean cultures.WHALING & WELFARE127Because they are adapted to an exclusively marine way of life (cetaceans being the larger of only twoorders of mammals that complete their lifecycles in the water), these animals also have a number ofphysiological and anatomical peculiarities that further compound welfare issues.Determining when whales are deadPerhaps the greatest concern relating to the welfare of hunted cetaceans is the fact that the currentcriteria used for determining death in cetaceans are inadequate (Butterworth et al. 2003) (see chapter11). It is likely that whales suffer more prolonged deaths than the current data suggest, but until ascientifically proven means of determining death in cetaceans is established, individual whales may bedeclared dead while they are still alive. In some cases, it is possible they may even die while beingwinched aboard a processing vessel. It is also possible that an individual whale could be paralysed bythe harpoon strike and may initiate a physiological dive response, in an attempt to escape this attack.Such an animal would then present as ‘motionless’ and not breathing (since it may be holding its