Stranded whale put down |
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Wednesday, 01 October 2008 Note: this is an archived article, and kept for historical purposes. |
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A juvenile humpback whale stranded on the beach 1km south of Jurien townsite for the past week has been euthanased.
Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) marine wildlife officers this afternoon oversaw an operation to euthanase the animal using a technique approved by the Department's Animal Ethics Committee. The approved technique involved using charges to cause an implosion above the brain.DEC Senior Wildlife Officer Doug Coughran said the animal's physical condition had deteriorated considerably over the last 24 hours allowing wildlife officers to safely approach the whale and carry out the procedure. Mr Coughran said while some people had called for the whale to be ‘rescued', any such operation would have put the animal under further stress and prolonged the suffering. "The animal is 10.5m long and weighs an estimated 15 tonnes," he said. "Humpbacks rarely strand and do so only if they have serious health issues." |
