The value of animal welfare data collection: a case study on whaling operations

At present, there is no binding requirement within the International Whaling Commission (IWC) for presentation of animal welfare data and, in recent years, the whaling nations have stopped supplying data regarding the welfare implications of whaling for commercial purposes. In the past, although analyses of data were provided, the raw data were not publicly accessible. In 2006, an analysis was conducted of video footage of Japan's ‘scientific whaling’ in the Southern Ocean during the 2005/06 season. The results of the analysis suggested some severe animal welfare issues associated with the hunt based on a limited sample size. The case is made for the provision of such data to the IWC to be made compulsory. This would be achieved through an amendment to the IWC Schedule requiring specified animal welfare data. Such a schedule amendment should be drafted to include all forms of commercial whaling (including ‘scientific whaling’ and whaling under objection) and should build upon earlier proposals that were presented to the IWC between 2000 and 2003.