Ethological and procedural assessment of ballistics euthanasia for stranded cetaceans

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dc.citation.volume284
dc.contributor.authorBoys RM
dc.contributor.authorBeausoleil NJ
dc.contributor.authorStockin KA
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-13T02:02:44Z
dc.date.available2025-03-13T02:02:44Z
dc.date.issued2025-02-12
dc.description.abstractEuthanasia may be necessary at cetacean stranding events to end suffering. To ensure a humane death, verification of unconsciousness must be undertaken following application of the killing method. However, only limited information is reported on individual euthanasia events, including how unconsciousness and/or death is assessed. Here, we describe current practices for euthanising stranded cetaceans in New Zealand by analysing video footage of fourteen ballistics events involving various species. Specifically, we detail the ballistics procedures applied and the behavioural responses of the animals. Additionally, we sought to understand how animal unconsciousness was evaluated following each event by surveying the personnel involved. Video recordings ranged in length from 25 to 480 s after the initial shot and involved 14 cetaceans: one Cuvier's beaked whale, one pygmy sperm whale, one bottlenose dolphin, four pilot whales and seven false killer whales. Unconsciousness criteria were typically not observed being verified in the videos analysed, despite markspersons stating that death occurred in < 1 minute for most animals. Number of shots applied to an animal ranged from 1–3. Key behaviours indicative of unconsciousness included a continuously slack lower jaw and epaxial muscle relaxation. Based on behavioural observations, 66.7 % of animals for which an estimate could be made (n = 12) were likely unconscious within 30 s of the initial shot; half of these were likely unconscious within 10 s. The remaining animals appeared conscious for 30 s after the initial shot, and half of these were likely still conscious after one minute. Ten animals displayed post-shot behaviours suggestive of voluntary control, including tail lifting, beyond the point of presumed death reported by markspersons. The lack of verification of unconsciousness in most animals (12/14) hinders our ability to understand how these behaviours may correlate with awareness and thus welfare impacts of shooting. While the application of ballistics appeared to follow current national recommendations, mandated procedures for verifying death were rarely observed. We recommend exploring the reasons for this finding, to ensure that such procedures are appropriately undertaken, and welfare compromise minimised.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.editionMarch 2025
dc.identifier.citationBoys RM, Beausoleil NJ, Stockin KA. (2025). Ethological and procedural assessment of ballistics euthanasia for stranded cetaceans. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 284.
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106537
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn0168-1591
dc.identifier.number106537
dc.identifier.piiS0168159125000358
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/72629
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherElsevier B.V.
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159125000358
dc.relation.isPartOfApplied Animal Behaviour Science
dc.rights(c) 2025 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectAnimal welfare
dc.subjectBehaviour
dc.subjectEuthanise
dc.subjectInsensibility
dc.subjectMarine mammal
dc.subjectShooting
dc.subjectUnconsciousness
dc.titleEthological and procedural assessment of ballistics euthanasia for stranded cetaceans
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id499780
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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