The Animal Welfare Institute believes all whaling to be inherently cruel. Even the most advanced whaling methods cannot guarantee an immediate death or ensure that targeted animals will not feel any pain or distress before they die.  It is quite different from humane slaughter laws that provide some protection for livestock.

Many modern whalers use harpoons fired from the bow of a whaling vessel. Harpoons have been used for more than a thousand years to capture not only whales but large fishes as well.

Modern harpoons are usually fitted with penthrite grenades that will penetrate about 12 inches (one foot) into the body before they explode, releasing claw-like protrusions into the flesh. The initial blast is supposed to cause enough brain damage to kill or knock the whale out for a few seconds. However, depending on where the harpoon hits the whale’s body, the whale may suffer from trauma or blood loss but not die immediately.

Often, when the whale survives the initial grenade harpoon, a high-powered rifle is used as a secondary killing method. After harpooning, the animal is hauled onto the ship using a line attached to the harpoon, with the grenade’s claws biting into the flesh of the animal. Sometimes the harpoon line might break due to heavy seas or other causes, and the struck whale is lost to the ocean as they bleed to death.

For animals who have not been stunned or killed by then, we can only imagine the excruciating pain and distress they have to feel. Whaling is a cruel and unnecessary activity that must be stopped. Commercial whaling is banned, trade in whale products is forbidden and demand for whale meat is falling. Yet, every year Japan, Norway and Iceland still kill around 1,500 whales.