Blown Up : Stranded Whale Is Put To Death
<!-- SHARE --> <script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script> <!-- end SHARE --> 11:12am, Thursday September 02, 2010
Andy Jack
A terminally ill whale that had become stranded near an Australian harbour has been blown up by authorities.
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Explosives have been used on several occasions to put whales to death
The 31-foot-long juvenile humpback, weighing more than 12 tons, had been stranded near Albany's Princess Harbour on Western Australia's south coast for more than a week. Officers from the local department of environment and conservation (DEC) had been monitoring the whale’s condition and took the decision to put the animal to death after it re-positioned itself on a sandbar. Ian Woods, Sky's Australia correspondent, said the authorities used around half a kilo of gelignite packed onto the whale's head with sandbags.
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<!---->Our main priority has always been to treat this animal as humanely as possible while nature took its course
<cite> Mike Shepherd, Department of Environment and Conservation</cite>
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</cite> The operation was led by Mike Shepherd, who said: "In the last 24 hours the whale moved a couple of metres from its original stranding position, which was enough to stabilise the whale so that we could carry out the preparations for a controlled implosion to the whale’s cranium.
"This was not an option that was available to us until now as the animal, even while terminally sick, was still strong enough to present a serious safety risk to DEC staff and volunteers. "Our main priority has always been to treat this animal as humanely as possible while nature took its course."
Arrangements are being made to remove the carcass. It could be towed out to sea or buried on the beach, depending on conditions. Explosives have been used on several occasions in the past to euthanise whales, DEC said. Because its officers were working in a metre of water and because stranded whales are attractive to sharks, a spotter plane flew overhead to monitor shark activity.
