TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

possibility of establishing a similar body in the Pacific. To some extent it may appear that thedevelopment of such bodies is a political ploy; a threat to the IWC if it does not develop in thedirection that the whalers desire. The question then arises as to how such bodies would take welfarematters into account.The face of whaling in the 21st Century is changing. There is already considerable ongoing whalingactivity occurring outside of the IWC and significant attempts to blur the distinction betweenaboriginal and commercial hunts. New categories of whaling are evolving to fill the niche ofconventional commercial whaling. One such category is special permit whaling (see chapter 13). It isalso feared that a change in Japanese law to permit the commercial sale of whales caught in nets mayprovide an incentive for fishermen (who have neither the training, nor the equipment), to kill ratherthan release ‘bycaught cetaceans’. The consumption of whales caught in nets is permitted in othercountries conducting whaling (see chapter 6). Other technological changes may include the use ofnoise to drive the animals 7 .The products of bycaught whales and whales taken under special permit are sold commercially inJapan, helping to stimulate the market for cetacean meat. This further promotes the market incetacean products, which is also filled by small cetacean hunts and further fuels the desire to tradecetacean products internationally.130A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN WHALING ACTIVITIESWelfare potential of whaling operationsA killing method that is truly painless and causes minimum distress to the animal can be classified as‘humane slaughter’ and, therefore, a process with the potential for high welfare. From the analysis inchapter 12, it is clear that there are a number of factors inherent in current whale killing methodsthat mitigate against the potential for high welfare. These include the initial pursuit, and thedifficulties involved in hitting a distant, largely submerged, moving target from a moving platform atsea. The killing methods themselves are often not well adapted for the species taken, or the variabilityof size between individuals of the same species. The significance of these variables and theinadequacies of the methods used are reflected in the poor instantaneous death rates, and averagetimes to death, and the need for secondary killing methods during all types of whaling operation.In summary, when assessing the welfare potential of whale killing methods using accepted principlesof humane slaughter, it is clear that current whaling operations have a low welfare potential, and arelikely to cause pain and suffering in many hunted cetaceans.Other mammal huntsWhaling is sometimes compared to other mammal hunts and proponents of commercial whalingmay even suggest that whaling compares favourably with such other hunts. Comparisons of thisnature are highly contentious, inappropriate and outside of the scope of this book. However, twothings are noted: First, most whaling is unlike the majority of other mammal hunting because it is agovernment-sanctioned and financially supported activity. Therefore, governments can be expected toshoulder the responsibility for the associated welfare concerns.Second, a culture of change can be identified in the hunting of some other mammals, whereby bestmanagement practices (BMPs) are being adopted with the intent of giving attention to animalwelfare, safety for huntsmen, the public and other wild animals. These BMPs demonstrate that