Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement
The capture and killing of free-living small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is described. After being driven on-shore by motor vessels, the animals are killed without pre-stunning using officially-prescribed methods that involve severing the spinal cord and the associated blood vessels using a long-...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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Frontiers Media SA
2024
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524 2024-09-15T18:05:35+00:00 Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement Simmons, Alick 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Marine Science volume 11 ISSN 2296-7745 journal-article 2024 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524 2024-07-23T04:03:14Z The capture and killing of free-living small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is described. After being driven on-shore by motor vessels, the animals are killed without pre-stunning using officially-prescribed methods that involve severing the spinal cord and the associated blood vessels using a long-handled lance. The claim that this induces near instantaneous unconsciousness and death lacks supporting evidence: it is believed that the animals are simply paralyzed, not immediately rendered unconscious. The cervical and spinal arterial circulation of cetaceans differs from that of terrestrial mammals and it is likely the spinal lance does not completely destroy the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain. In conclusion, the entire process from driving the animals onto the shore, to restraint and to killing stranded cetaceans is very likely to be detrimental to their welfare. Detailed studies would be necessary to determine the veracity of the claimed efficacy of the process. A bespoke humane killer may improve welfare at the time of killing but its development is considered challenging. Article in Journal/Newspaper Faroe Islands Frontiers (Publisher) Frontiers in Marine Science 11 |
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description |
The capture and killing of free-living small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is described. After being driven on-shore by motor vessels, the animals are killed without pre-stunning using officially-prescribed methods that involve severing the spinal cord and the associated blood vessels using a long-handled lance. The claim that this induces near instantaneous unconsciousness and death lacks supporting evidence: it is believed that the animals are simply paralyzed, not immediately rendered unconscious. The cervical and spinal arterial circulation of cetaceans differs from that of terrestrial mammals and it is likely the spinal lance does not completely destroy the supply of oxygenated blood to the brain. In conclusion, the entire process from driving the animals onto the shore, to restraint and to killing stranded cetaceans is very likely to be detrimental to their welfare. Detailed studies would be necessary to determine the veracity of the claimed efficacy of the process. A bespoke humane killer may improve welfare at the time of killing but its development is considered challenging. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Simmons, Alick |
spellingShingle |
Simmons, Alick Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement |
author_facet |
Simmons, Alick |
author_sort |
Simmons, Alick |
title |
Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement |
title_short |
Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement |
title_full |
Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement |
title_fullStr |
Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement |
title_full_unstemmed |
Capture and killing of small cetaceans in the Faroe Islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement |
title_sort |
capture and killing of small cetaceans in the faroe islands is inhumane and offers little scope for improvement |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524/full |
genre |
Faroe Islands |
genre_facet |
Faroe Islands |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science volume 11 ISSN 2296-7745 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1368524 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
11 |
_version_ |
1810443127406723072 |