Extract:
Inherently cruel methods are common in hunting whales, dolphins and porpoises, says Jennifer Lonsdale of the Environmental Investigation Agency.
The killing of whales has wreaked havoc on whale populations throughout the world, driving many to the verge of extinction. Today, half a million small whales, dolphins and porpoises are dying every year.
These statistics overshadow the fact that the killing of each individual whale, dolphin and porpoise is inherently and unacceptably cruel. It is easy to forget that this is why so many people are so vehemently opposed to the killing of these animals.
There are three aspects to a whale or dolphin hunt - the chase, the capture and the kill. The welfare considerations of any hunt depend on the time taken to carry out each of these phases. Each phase can inflict extreme stress and suffering on the animal.
If the animal is not killed by the impact of the first weapon chosen, a second is used. For example, in the Norwegian Minke whale hunt, an exploding 'penthrite' harpoon is fired into the whale. The circumstances of the hunt mean that a large percentage - 40% in the '93 season - are not killed by the harpoon. A rifle is fired at the whale to "finished it off". In many dolphin kills, hand harpoons are thrown at the animal from the boat. If this fails, a knife is used to slit the dolphin's throat. In either of these examples, the primary weapon inflicts excrutiating pain on the whale or dolphin. It takes little expertise to realise that every second the animal remains alive and wounded, is a second of extreme and unacceptable pain.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) each year considers the methods used to kill whales. This year a special workshop will be held in which experts from all over the world will examine the methods and implements used. The workshop presents an opportunity to focus on the cruelty of whaling and to remind the Commission that progress must be made towards eliminating the suffering inflict during the hunts.
Unfortunately, in the past, progress on reducing the cruelty of whaling has been slow and minimal. The most significant step taken by the IWC was the banning of the cold or non- exploding harpoon in 1981 because it was acknowledged to be an implement to wound and not to kill.
More recently, the use of the electric lance in the Japanese Minke whale hunt has received much criticism. In this case, if a whale is not killed by the impact of the exploding harpoon, an electric shock is passed through the whale in an effort to kill it.
Prof. David Blackmore of New Zealand, with his team, have been studying the use of this secondary killing method. They conclude that the amount of power needed to effectively and humanely kill a Minke whale would pose a significant danger to those on board the whaling ship. The use of electricity in this hunt therefore only accentuates the suffering of the whale. This will be the major focus of the discussions in the 1995 Workshop, which is expected to conclude that the use of electric lance should be banned.
Perhaps the best known hunt of small whales is the Faroese pilot whale hunt. Entire herds of whales are driven into bays where they are first struck with a 5lb metal whaling hook or gaff in order to restrain them. A rope attached to the embedded gaff is then used to pull the whale to the shore. A knife with a 6-inch blade cuts through the blubber and flesh behind the blowhole, in an attempt to serve the main blood vessel to the brain which lies in the spinal column. Again, the circumstances of this hunt and the implement used prolong the suffering. Wounded whales often take several minutes to die. Whales await their turn to be killed in the water bloodied by their dead or dying relatives.
The hunt has been the subject of much international criticism because it is so unacceptably cruel. The gaff has been likened to the cold harpoon in that it is designed to wound and not to kill. The cutting often results in several knife wounds, and whales have been documented abandoned, half decapitated but still conscious. Under Faroese law, to inflict such cruelty on a land animal would be illegal and considered unacceptable by Faroese people. The Faroese Government acknowleges that an alternative to the gaff should be found. And yet there has been no restriction on its use.
The Japanese Government, too, ignores the similar shocking cruelty of the kills of tens of thousands of small whales, dolphins and porpoises taking place each year around the coast of Japan.
Justification for cruelty in any hunt is usually that there is no better method of killing the animals. Never do the hunters acknowledge the simple ethical fact that if you cannot kill without causing suffering, then you should not kill.