Cruelty of whaling exposed

In the days before the Japanese fleet departs for the largest ever whale hunt in a sanctuary designated specifically for protection from whaling, WDCS has exposed the cruelty of whale killing methods.

Japanese whalers are expected to set sail for the Southern Ocean Sanctuary in the next few days. Targeting up to 935 minke whales, and for the first time 50 humpback and 50 fin whales, Japan will kill more whales, from a wider range of species than it has ever killed before under the pretext of science in their Antarctic hunt.

“As well as minke and fin whales, Japanese gunners will also be targeting humpback whales which they have no experience of killing in recent years .This season is set to become a gruesome experiment in how long these large and magnificent animals may take to die,” said Philippa Brakes, WDCS Senior Biologist.

Data from previous hunts, examined by WDCS, demonstrate the clear relationship between the size of the species being hunted and the increased need for another harpoon, or bullets, to be used to kill the whale when the first harpoon has failed. Larger whales are expected to suffer for longer. Even for minke whales, the smallest species targeted in this hunt, the average recorded time to death is unacceptably high, reported as varying between one and three minutes, with some whales likely to suffer for a great deal longer. It is expected that the larger species, such as humpbacks and fin whales, may have even longer average ‘Times to Death’ due to their larger size.

Serious concerns surround the welfare implications of killing substantially larger whales using the same basic method as for smaller species: an exploding harpoon. As the largest species to be targeted, and up to twelve times heavier than minke whales, the endangered fin whales may be at the greatest risk of suffering protracted deaths.

Fin whales are the second-largest animal species ever to have lived on Earth, weighing up to a maximum of 120 tonnes and some Southern hemisphere females have been recorded as reaching 27m in length. Over the past five years, the maximum time to death recorded by the Greenlandic Aboriginal Subsistence hunt for fin whales has varied annually between 25 and 720 minutes, i.e. up to 12 hours for one individual fin whale to die. Although the Japanese hunters may use an increased explosive charge to kill the fin whales, no data have been provided on how long these whales take to die in the Antarctic hunt.

“Japan’s so called scientific whaling goes against international opinion and the spirit of the moratorium on commercial whaling and places these whales at unacceptable and significant risk of a painful and protracted death.

“The question the global community needs to ask itself is whether the unfettered exploitation of these extraordinary and endangered mammals, under the guise of research - the products of which are sold for commercial purposes - can be tolerated any longer. There is no question that the time has come for governments to take a strong stance on this issue and to act now to protect these species which are part of the global commons and should be the inheritance of future generations, ” said Philippa Brakes.

In addition to their enormous size, fin whales are renowned for reaching speeds of up to 25 knots. This, in combination with gunners with limited experience of killing these huge whales, underpowered weaponry and unpredictable weather conditions in the Southern Ocean, could significantly influence the likelihood of a swift death for these whales.

Whales which escape after being struck by the harpoon, usually because the rope attached to the harpoon breaks or the harpoon pulls out, create an additional welfare concern. Such animals are known as ‘Struck and Lost’ and often suffer an unknown fate. Previous records for the Greenlandic fin whale hunt show that for every ten fin whales killed and landed, between one and two were ‘Struck and Lost’.

WDCS strongly opposes whaling for either commercial or purported ‘scientific’ purposes. Serious welfare concerns exist which preclude these activities from ever being conducted humanely.

Source: WDCS