19. The Humane Killing of Whales
(from "Chairman's Report of the Thirteenth Meeting")
One of the members of the Working Party on the Humane Killing of Whales
reported to the Commission on the technical discussions held this spring
between representatives of British and Norwegian industries on experiments
made by both countries on the electrical killing of whales (IWC/13/7).
Recent advances in the design and technique of explosive harpooning had, it
appears, reduced the time taken to kill and very often ensured instant death.
This meant that explosive harpooning killed as quickly as the electrical
method.
In view of the importance of the time factor, already emphasized in the report
of the Working Party to the Twelfth Meeting of the Commission, and in the
light of these technological developments, it seemed that the present methods
were not necessarily inhumane.
The Commission therefore decided that, while no specific experiments were
under recommendation at present, the subject should nevertheless be kept under
review.
In this connection it was understood that the Japanese, Norwegian and U.S.S.R.
Governments were still carrying out experiments. Finally it was agreed that
the Working Party on the Humane Killing of Whales should now be dispersed and
the members thanked for the useful work they had done.
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