TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

knowledge of external landmarks for identifying target areas for the species taken, are also extremelyimportant factors. Prevailing weather conditions, including sea state and visibility may, in addition,be significant (chapter 8). Sea state influences both the stability of the platform from which thekilling method is applied and the relative movements of the target animal. Adverse weatherconditions are frequently cited by the government of Japan as being a cause for the poorinstantaneous death rate in their Antarctic hunt for minke whales 2 .Even during the euthanasia of cetaceans stranded on the beach, where euthanasia occurs at closeproximity, weather conditions can affect the safe and efficient use of firearms. On the beach, highseas and driving winds can cause stranded cetaceans to be moving constantly, making the effectiveplacement of the bullet in the brain difficult. In New Zealand for example, it is not considered safeto euthanase a stranded sperm whale with the SWED until the animal is no longer surrounded bywater. This is to avoid any movements of the whale, caused by immersion in water, which mightdeflect the course of the bullet and to ensure that the SWED operator has a firm footing beforedischarging the firearm.In addition there are a number of characteristics that vary between cetacean species and betweenindividual animals that will influence the accuracy of any killing method. There are considerableanatomical variations among cetacean species to which the same or similar killing methods areapplied during whaling operations (Anon 2003). These differences may affect the course ofprojectiles through the body, as they travel through different depths of blubber and muscle andencounter bone and vital organs at specific locations. Such factors may also apply to individuals ofthe same species, who vary in size according to, age and sex and vary in blubber thickness accordingto season 3 . During whaling operations, where the potential for accuracy is often poor, these specificcharacteristics may greatly increase the margin for error, and therefore, influence the time to deathand associated suffering.EUTHANASIA OF CETACEANS81During the 2003 IWC Workshop on Whale Killing Methods and Associated Welfare Issues, theUnited Kingdom presented a paper evaluating the methods that are currently used to kill whalesduring whaling operations and how these methods are specifically adapted for the species taken(Anon 2003). It concluded that, in general, the killing methods used during whaling operations arenot well adapted for the specific anatomical requirements of the different species taken. Concern wasexpressed that this may be a major contributory factor in protracted times to death and may, inparticular, be a cause for concern where larger species, such as fin and sperm whales, are killed usingmethods developed for the much smaller minke species. It was concluded that during whalingoperations there is a tendency for killing methods to be transferred from one species to another,without due consideration for the specific killing requirements between species.During the 2003 Workshop, the Austrian delegation noted the dependence on secondary killingmethods, such as the rifle, during whaling operations (Stachowitsch and Brakes 2003). This reflectsthe inefficiency of some of the primary killing methods used. The efficiency of secondary killingmethods is also dependant on many variables, and it is important that all secondary killing methodsseek to render an already wounded animal dead as swiftly as possible. Therefore, all secondary killingmethods should be sufficiently powerful, and adequate calibre and bullet design should be selected inorder to achieve this. Norway, for example, recommends that a minimum calibre of 9.3mm (.365)(generating at least 5500 joules energy) with round nose full-jacketed bullets should be used for