Dolphinaria-Free Europe (DFE) strongly supports the rescue of stranded cetaceans and we encourage the humane and ethical treatment of all individuals during these events. Each stranding event should be treated as a unique situation, whilst drawing on the wide range of cases, expertise and species-specific examples to assess the viability of a rescue based on the health and welfare of the animal. DFE encourages respectful consultation with stakeholders during strandings to consider the outcome options available.
Releasing the animal back to their natural habitat should always be the ultimate goal. If the individual is assessed to be in adequate condition, refloatation should be attempted to maximise the animal’s chance of survival. Refloatation should be done in a controlled manner using a strategic plan developed by experts. It should encompass techniques that are suitable for the conditions and species using appropriate and/or specialist equipment, allowing the animal to recover properly and reestablish social bonds with others from the stranding, if present, before release.
If the cetacean is determined by experts to be unreleasable from the immediate stranding event, then the next option that DFE deems acceptable is the transfer to a genuine and authentic seaside sanctuary where the animal’s welfare is prioritised, with the aim of releasing it back into the wild once recovered. DFE recommends that this is carried out in a manner that minimises the probability of habituation to humans to minimise the risks to the cetacean when they are released. If this option is unavailable or unviable in the circumstances, then euthanasia would be considered the final most appropriate option.
DFE recognises that, at times, individuals’ health is compromised and/or conditions are unable to be met for them to be released from rehabilitation back into the wild. Under such circumstances, DFE opposes the permanent captivity in a dolphinarium, zoo or any other commercial facility of any stranded cetaceans. Therefore, euthanasia ought to be considered the next most appropriate welfare outcome in such cases.
If euthanasia is to be implemented in either scenario, it must be done by experienced personnel, including veterinarians, using the best available scientific evidence to guide the methods used. If euthanasia is necessary, consultation with the relevant authorities must be applied in accordance with the relevant legislation to ensure that the euthanasia is humane and legal.
- See Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries Cetacean Guidelines for examples of what a genuine and authentic seaside sanctuary for cetaceans encompasses.
- Habituation: the diminishing of a physiological or emotional response to a stimulus; in other words, the process of people or animals becoming used to something, so that they no longer find it unpleasant or think it is a threat. In a marine mammal context, sea lions frequently habituate to loud, unpleasant sounds meant to deter them from approaching aquaculture pens, river mouths where salmon spawn, or other areas where humans do not want them present. While initially the sound is effective at excluding the animals, eventually they habituate to it and it no longer acts as a deterrent