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Welfare Issues Associated with Small Toothed Whale Hunts: An Example, the ‘Drive Hunt’ in Taiji, Japan

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Marine Mammal Welfare

Part of the book series: Animal Welfare ((AWNS,volume 17))

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Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss in detail an example of a small toothed whale hunt, with the aim of illustrating the methods used and the welfare questions that can arise in these cetacean hunts. Annually in Japanese waters, small cetaceans are killed in drive hunts with quotas set by the government of Japan. The Taiji Fishing Cooperative in Japan has published the details of a new killing method utilized in these specific hunts that involves cutting (transecting) the spinal cord. Reports claim that this method reduces the time to death. The method involves the repeated insertion of a metal rod followed by the plugging of the wound to prevent blood loss into the water. This method does not appear to lead to an immediate death. The method employed causes damage to the vertebral blood vessels and the vascular rete from insertion of the rod and leads to significant haemorrhage, but this damage alone would not produce a rapid death in a large mammal of this type. The method induces paraplegia (paralysis of the body) and death through trauma and gradual blood loss. We discuss in this chapter how this killing method compares to the recognized requirement for ‘immediate insensibility’ adopted in killing procedures utilized or considered acceptable in slaughter of farmed animals.

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Acknowledgements

The major part of this text is derived from a modified and updated version of Butterworth et al. (2013) with permission from the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of the individuals who collected and provided video footage, still photographs and translations that enabled this analysis. Specifically, we thank AtlanticBlue.de for providing the video footage from drive hunts in Taiji, Japan, and Chisa Hidaka, M.D. for providing the translation of the original document (Iwasaki and Kai 2010) upon which this analysis is based.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol Veterinary School, Langford, N. Somerset, Bristol, UK

    Andy Butterworth

  2. Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Diana Reiss

  3. Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 38 St Paul St, Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK

    Philippa Brakes

  4. University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall, UK

    Philippa Brakes

  5. Whale and Dolphin Conservation, 7 Nelson St, 02360, Plymouth, MA, USA

    Courtney Vail

Authors
  1. Andy Butterworth
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  2. Diana Reiss
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  3. Philippa Brakes
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  4. Courtney Vail
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andy Butterworth .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol, United Kingdom

    Andy Butterworth

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Butterworth, A., Reiss, D., Brakes, P., Vail, C. (2017). Welfare Issues Associated with Small Toothed Whale Hunts: An Example, the ‘Drive Hunt’ in Taiji, Japan. In: Butterworth, A. (eds) Marine Mammal Welfare. Animal Welfare, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46994-2_6

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