TROUBLED WATERS - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

12 A comparison betweenslaughterhouse standards andmethods used during whalingPhilip Lymbery, Director of Communications, World Society for the Protection of Animals(WSPA), London, UK.Philippa Brakes, Marine Consultant, c/o WDCS (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society),Chippenham, UK.Kitty Block, Special Counsel to the UN & Treaties Dept., the Humane Society of the UnitedStates (the HSUS), Washington DC, US.92A REVIEW OF THE WELFARE IMPLICATIONS OF MODERN WHALING ACTIVITIESWhen animals are slaughtered for food it is considered important in many societies that, for ethicalreasons, the process used does not cause unnecessary suffering (Wotton, 2001). A killing method thatis truly painless and causes minimal distress to the animal can be classified as humane slaughter. Thefollowing chapter examines the regulation of slaughter and methodologies used in the slaughter oflivestock and compares these with methods used during the slaughter of whales. An assessment ismade of the welfare impact of the different methodologies employed.The guiding principle for the humane slaughter of livestock is the achievement of an immediate stateof unconsciousness in the animal, followed by rapid progression to death, and this ‘best practice’principle is enforced by legislation in many countries. In a study by Gregory and Lowe (1999), it wasfound that in the majority of countries reviewed, there was a requirement for the humane treatmentof animals prior to, and during slaughter, with emphasis on induction of insensibility with a stunningprocedure in order to avoid suffering during the slaughter process.Modern whaling activities fall outside current livestock legislation. Nonetheless, a legal argument canbe made that there is an emerging customary international legal requirement for the humaneslaughter and treatment of commercially slaughtered animals for human consumption. The meatfrom whaling operations, whether it is commercial, aboriginal subsistence or ‘special permit’, isultimately intended for human consumption. Even when cetaceans are killed during ‘research’activities, the meat is made available for human consumption. It is, therefore, legitimate to considerthe welfare implications of whale killing methods alongside slaughter practices for other ‘foodanimals’.National and international regulation of welfare at slaughterThe international community is showing a growing care and concern for the general welfare ofanimals. An enforced humane killing standard for animals whose meat is sold commercially isbecoming commonplace. Many states around the world have some type of humane slaughter laws orpractices. International organizations, European Union regulation and multi-lateral trade agreementsare codifying and improving upon these practices. More specifically, there is an emerging