TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

The potential stress effects on whales of pursuit during whalingoperations• Whaling operations can impose a degree of physical and psychological stress upon a pursuedcetacean before any killing method is deployed. Such stress factors may be significant for cetaceansthat are struck and eventually killed, but also for those that evade capture. From first sighting, theelements of the pursuit, such as the approach, duration, speed and distance covered, may affectmorbidity and mortality, even amongst animals that successfully evade being struck.• The degree of exertion imposed on whales during pursuit may fall outside the species’ adaptiverange. Whalers depend on achieving a minimum distance between themselves and whales forsuccessful harpooning. This range is likely to fall below the distance that would naturally bemaintained by wild cetaceans. Pursuit, as part of whaling, therefore has the potential to inducestress, which may reveal itself in a series of lethal and sub-lethal pathologies.Weather, sea condition and ship motions affecting accuracy in whaling• The combination of visibility, sea state, ship motion and marksmanship are likely to impactsignificantly on the ability of a whaler to reliably kill a whale instantaneously. If weather, seaconditions or the motion of the vessel do not allow for a properly aimed shot, then there is asignificant risk of a poorly placed harpoon or bullet causing an extended time to death andassociated suffering.4A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN WHALING ACTIVITIESEuthanasia of cetaceans• The meticulous nature of the methods developed for the euthanasia of stranded cetaceans andthe conditions under which these methods are applied, contrast significantly with the ofteninferior circumstances and substandard methods used during whaling operations. Whalersattempting a fatal shot with a harpoon or a rifle, often from a considerable range, need to overcomea number of significant factors that hinder accuracy. The significance of these variables and theinadequacies of the methods used are reflected in the poor instantaneous death rates and averagetimes to death during all whaling operations.Other welfare considerations• The complex social behaviour of cetaceans may mean that the killing of one cetacean from asocial group may have a significant effect on others. This is especially likely if the strong maternalbond between mother and calf is broken. There is also growing evidence of culture in somecetacean species. Therefore, consideration should be given to the impact of whaling operations onthe welfare of remaining individuals in the social groups.Comparison with the commercial slaughter of other species• Basic principles that must be addressed to protect the welfare of animals at slaughter have beenidentified for livestock animals. These principles, the determinants of high welfare slaughtermethodology, are:pre-slaughter handling facilities which minimise stress;use of competent well-trained, caring personnel;appropriate equipment, which is fit for the purpose;an effective process which induces immediate unconsciousness and insensibility, or aninduction to a period of unconsciousness without distress; and,guarantee of non-recovery from that process until death ensues.