Police Blow Up Stranded Whale

[emad]

Police today used explosives to kill the Southern Right whale stranded on Mnandi beach, angering many onlookers.

But Nan Rice of the Dolphin Action Group said it was a humane way to put the whale down.

The blast destroyed the top part of the whale's head, bloodying the water.

Robin Adams, deputy manager of the Table Mountain National Park marine area, said it was "very sad".

The 10m whale was still alive early today, but Marine and Coastal Management officials made the decision to euthanase the animal, which they said could not be saved.

"I'm relieved," said Rice. "The whale was either sickly or injured and had to be put down. Bullets or even harpoons are a slow way of killing such a whale with all its blubber, and would have just prolonged its agony."

http://allafrica.com/stories/200509140553.html

[enigami]

1. wow n/t

[Shell Beau]

2. Doesn't sound humane to me, but

I certainly wouldn't want to whale to die a slow painful death. :shrug: :cry:

[B3Nut]

3. Probably the only thing they could do....

...not sure how you'd euthanize a whale otherwise...you'd have to have a LOOOOOONG hypodermic needle and probably a gallon of solution. As long as it was quick and painless...

Sad tho...

Todd in Beerbratistan

[tjwmason]

4. On the grounds that the whale would have died pretty much instantly

It strikes me as being very humane.

Sometimes nature is down-right nasty when compared with our modern sensibilities.

[Shell Beau]

7. Well sounding humane and being humane can be

2 totally different things. It may have been the most humane thing to do, but it is sad that is how it has to be done! Poor whale.

[no name no slogan]

5. ew

for some reasons, Gallager comes to mind. Hold up the plastic sheeting...

[RedCloud]

6. Sounds like they had a whale of a time with it.

I can hear your wailing right now.

There is no right way to kill a right whale.

Neil Young should "right" a song about "Southern Whale".

[JVS]

8. Any video clips

[peekaloo]

9. Thar she blows....literally.

[regularguy]

10. Reminds me of this Dave Barry column:

"I am absolutely not making this incident up; in fact I have it all on videotape. The tape is from a local TV news show in Oregon, which sent a reporter out to cover the removal of a 45-foot, eight-ton dead whale that washed up on the beach. The responsibility for getting rid of the carcass was placed on the Oregon State Highway Division, apparently on the theory that highways and whales are very similar in the sense of being large objects.

So anyway, the highway engineers hit upon the plan -- remember, I am not making this up -- of blowing up the whale with dynamite. The thinking is that the whale would be blown into small pieces, which would be eaten by seagulls, and that would be that. A textbook whale removal.

So they moved the spectators back up the beach, put a half-ton of dynamite next to the whale and set it off. I am probably not guilty of understatement when I say that what follows, on the videotape, is the most wonderful event in the history of the universe..."

http://www.perp.com/whale/barry.html