19. HUMANE KILLING OF WHALES (1976)

19. HUMANE KILLING OF WHALES

(from "Chairman's Report of the Twenty-Eighth Meeting")

The Scientific Committee considered the responses by member nations to enquiries regarding new developments in the efficiency and technique of killing whales. Their recommendations were endorsed by the Technical Committee and accepted by the Commission as follows:

(a): The Secretary should contact health authorities in the UK, USA, Japan and other member countries to determine their regulations concerning the use of chemicals in the slaughtering process.
(b): The Secretary should contact member nations taking minke and other small whales and ask them what methods were used at present to secure and kill them.
(c): The Secretary should contact the US Government with regard to experiments on the application of CO₂ gas as a method of euthanasia.
(d): The Secretary should contact member whaling nations to enquire whether research into the use of high velocity projectiles for speeding death times is being considered.

The USA and UK both expressed the deep concern felt in those countries about the methods used to kill whales and the UK made a suggestion that members might consider the possibility that countries which lacked substantial expertise in this matter might make facilities available for more exploratory work.