TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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UNCLOS 1958. Resolution V. In: Report of the Third Committee.WSPA 2003. Slaughter of Dolphins Continues in Japan. http://www.wspa.org.uk/index.php?page=878Øen, E.O. 2003. Improvements in hunting and killing methods for minke whales in Norway 1981-2003.Submitted by Norway to the IWC Workshop on Whale Killing Methods, Berlin, June 7-9, 2003.IWC/55/WK17.Footnotes1 The ‘strike limit’ is the total number of whales that may be ‘struck’ with a harpoon, or other weapon, in ahunt.2 By contrast, the minke whale, Japan’s primary target species, only reaches a maximum length of 10.7m.3 Male bottlenose whales can reach 9.8m in length and their weight can be more than twice that of a pilotwhale.4 Resolution on Southern Hemisphere Minke Whales and Special Permit Whaling. IWC/55/28. Resolutionadopted during IWC/55, 2003.5 “The cold grenade harpoon shall not be used unless it is permitted by the Director-General of the Fisheries Agency asnecessary for the implementation of research and unless it is used as the second harpoon in order to shorten the timeto death of the whale which was struck by an explosive grenade harpoon”. (Item 5, Special Permit No. 14-SUIKAN-1299, April 2003.)6 North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission.7 For example in October 2003, during a drive hunt for dolphins in Taiji, Japan, witnesses reported that soundwas used to panic the dolphins so that they could more easily be corralled (WSPA 2003).WHALING & WELFARE1338 For example Article 65, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
16 Summary of conclusionsModern day whaling activities give rise to serious animal welfare concerns. Is it likely, therefore, thathumane standards could ever be achieved during whaling operations? The evidence presented in thisreview strongly suggests that this is improbable.• The adaptations of cetaceans to the marine environment may have significant implications for theirwelfare during whaling operations. Adaptations for diving may make it difficult to determine whenthese animals are dead.• The current IWC criteria for determining death in cetaceans are inadequate.• In many cases, current killing methods are not adequately adapted for the species being killed.Differences between species may greatly increase the margin for error in killing methods and mayinfluence the time to death (TTD) and associated suffering.• The common use of secondary killing methods, such as the rifle, during whaling operations reflectsthe inefficiency of primary killing methods. There are currently no specific criteria for determiningwhen a secondary killing method should be applied.134A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN WHALING ACTIVITIES• There are significant differences in the efficiency reported from different hunts and even the beststatistics indicate that at least 20 per cent of whales killed for commercial purposes do no dieinstantaneously. Furthermore, in a practical whaling situation, ‘instantaneously’ is likely to equateto at least 10 seconds after the harpoon strike.• Recent data show that, for commercial and scientific whale hunts, the average estimated time todeath is over two minutes.• Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling (ASW) presents some of the gravest welfare concerns, yet theCommission has been slow to address these issues. Times to death in ASW hunts of over an hourare not uncommon.• Struck and lost whales represent a significant welfare problem. Struck and lost cetaceans may suffersignificantly in both the short- and long-term as a result of exhaustion and their injuries.• Whalers attempting to achieve a fatal shot, either with a harpoon or rifle, often must do so atconsiderable range, and need to overcome poor visibility, rough sea states and vessel motion. Theaccuracy of the gunner (or marksmanship) will also impact on the ability to kill a cetacean swiftly.• The exertion imposed on whales during pursuit may fall outside the species’ adaptive range. Pursuitduring whaling activities has the potential to induce stress, which may manifest as a series of lethaland sub-lethal pathologies. The effects of pursuit may also be significant for cetaceans that arestruck and eventually killed as well as for those that evade capture.
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ForewordWhales are highly evolved a
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1 Executive SummaryThis review exam
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2 A background to whalingPhilippa B
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y the weapon’s enormous recoil, w
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Japan currently whales in the Antar
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Otto, K. 1997. Animal Pain Behaviou
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Protecting the welfare of animals i
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Toothed whales (Odontoceti)Toothed
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Social behaviourMother-calf pairsOn
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to store and pass on information to
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Communication in great whalesThe mo
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Self-awarenessOne of the most compe
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J.G.M. Thewissen), pp. 158-162. Aca
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Whitehead, H., Waters, S. and Lyrho
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humanitarian purposes the time take
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Welfare and the modern IWCFrom 1980
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1996 UK proposes guidelines for col
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Section TwoWhale killing6 Commercia
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Table 1 Commercial, special permit
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It can be argued that the figures f
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Since struck and lost whales can in
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equipment to Russian subsistence wh
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This is the time from the throwing
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Table 3 Aboriginal Subsistence Whal
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International Aid For Korean Animal
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29 In Resolution 1999-1, the IWC no
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For example, Greenland and the Faro
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the past they made an important con
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however, has been made on the exten
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hunt indicate that the whales are s
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8 Weather, sea condition and shipmo
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chance of fog decreases from 15 to
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experienced in December, or y could
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9 The potential stress effects ofwh
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Both chase and pursuit cause stress
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and manifest in a series of lethal
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Ridgeway, S. H. (1966). Dall porpoi
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10 Euthanasia of cetaceansPhilippa
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for the task. The correct target ar
Page 87 and 88: whales the size of minke whales (Ø
Page 89 and 90: 11 Review of criteria for determini
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Page 93 and 94: interpreted criteria, comparisons o
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Page 97 and 98: 12 A comparison betweenslaughterhou
Page 99 and 100: include levels of premature mortali
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Page 103 and 104: affect an immediate and thereby law
Page 105 and 106: Table 1 Animal welfare and the Sche
Page 107 and 108: CIWF Trust, 2002. Farm Assurance Sc
Page 109 and 110: 13 Ethics and whaling under special
Page 111 and 112: Table 1. Consideration of the 3Rs i
Page 113 and 114: skin samples, without the need for
Page 115 and 116: IWC (2001) Report of the Scientific
Page 117 and 118: Whales and the lawCetaceans (and wh
Page 119 and 120: scientific and technical committees
Page 121 and 122: ASCOBANS came into force in 1994. F
Page 123 and 124: The Treaty of the Panama Canal, ena
Page 125 and 126: 2 As a result, their need for prote
Page 127 and 128: law says, but also the extent to wh
Page 129 and 130: 15 Whaling and welfarePhilippa Brak
Page 131 and 132: commercial whaling. Times to death
Page 133 and 134: eath). Using the current criteria t
Page 135 and 136: possibility of establishing a simil
Page 137: international customary law and exi
Page 141 and 142: Glossary136A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE
Page 143 and 144: 138A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICAT
Page 145 and 146: Appendix IIColour plates©Mark Voti
Page 147 and 148: 142A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICAT
Page 149 and 150: Figure 13. Processing minke whales
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TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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