Evaluation of ballistics euthanasia applied to stranded cetaceans using ethological and post-mortem computed tomography assessment.

Debilitated stranded cetaceans with low survival likelihood, may require euthanasia to avoid further suffering. Euthanasia can involve chemical or physical methods, including ballistics. Ballistics should cause instantaneous, permanent insensibility through brainstem disruption. Despite wide application, there is limited understanding of ballistics-related welfare outcomes. We opportunistically examined behaviour of three maternally-dependent cetaceans following shooting and the related cranial disruption post-mortem using computed tomography (PMCT). Our aim was to understand whether a 'humane death', i.e., euthanasia, was achieved. Each animal was shot using different projectile types: soft non-bonded, solid, and soft bonded. In two animals, insensibility was not immediately assessed following shooting, although both were reported as 'instantaneously insensible'. From our analysis, all animals displayed musculoskeletal responses to shooting, including peduncle stiffening and slack lower jaw, followed by musculature relaxation 24-, 10.3- and 20.8-seconds post-ballistics, respectively. The animal shot with a soft non-bonded projectile also displayed agonal convulsions and tail-lifting for 16-seconds post-shot; these were not observed for solid or soft bonded projectiles. PMCT findings indicated projectile disruption to the brainstem and/or spinal cord likely to cause near-instantaneous insensibility. However, extra-cranial wounding was also evident for the soft non-bonded projectile, highlighting potential for additional welfare compromise. Our results demonstrate that ballistics can achieve a relatively rapid death in young, stranded cetaceans, but careful equipment selection is required. To ensure a humane death, verification of insensibility must be undertaken immediately following shooting. Further studies should be undertaken to improve knowledge of appropriate procedures and equipment for euthanasia, ensuring humane deaths for compromised cetaceans.

Repeated freezing to very low temperatures does not impact the amount ejected from EpiPen® and Jext® adrenaline autoinjectors.

It has previously been shown that EpiPen® autoinjectors are likely to activate normally following up to five excursions to -25°C but data about the post-freezing performance of other brands of adrenaline autoinjectors has not previously been published. Additionally, conditions experienced by polar medics may be substantially colder than this and the performance of adrenaline autoinjectors following more extreme freeze-thaw cycles remains uncharacterised. Investigators in Antarctica and the United Kingdom performed laboratory testing on two brands of adrenaline autoinjector, EpiPen® and Jext® (12 devices of each type). A single freeze-thaw cycle involved freezing the device to -80°C then allowing it to come to room temperature. Devices were exposed to 0, 1, 5 or 15 freeze-thaw cycles. The mass of liquid ejected from each device, when activated, was then measured. No significant differences in the mass of the liquid ejected was found between the test groups. Multiple freeze-thaw cycles to -80°C are unlikely to significantly impact the amount of adrenaline solution expelled from EpiPen® and EpiPen® autoinjectors. This preliminary finding encourages further work investigating the safety and effectiveness of adrenaline autoinjectors after exposure to very low temperatures. This information would be valuable for future polar medics planning and delivering medical provision in extreme environments.

Identification of potential welfare and survival indicators for stranded cetaceans through international, interdisciplinary expert opinion.

Management of live cetacean strandings generally focuses on refloating animals, yet there is a lack of scientific data to inform decision-making. Valid indicators that are practical to measure are needed to assess welfare status and survival likelihood for stranded cetaceans. The Delphi method was applied to gather international and interdisciplinary expert opinion to provide face validity to potential indicators of stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood. Two online questionnaires were conducted. In the first questionnaire these experts identified potential indicators of stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood. These indicators were subsequently scored by the same experts in questionnaire two, based on their value for assessing welfare/survival likelihood and being practical to measure. Indicators considered valuable and practical for assessing welfare and survival likelihood at strandings included animal-based indices of body and skin condition, signs of physical trauma, respiration rate and various behaviours. Resource-/management-based indicators related mainly to human intervention and should be correlated with animal-based indices to provide relevant evaluations. Importantly, inextricable links between welfare and survival for stranded cetaceans are emphasized, with 90% of indicators being similar for both. Investigations into these indicators should be conducted to develop a practical, science-based assessment framework to inform decision-making during stranding events.

Evaluating Potential Cetacean Welfare Indicators from Video of Live Stranded Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas edwardii).

Despite the known benefit of considering welfare within wildlife conservation and management, there remains a lack of data to inform such evaluations. To assess animal welfare, relevant information must be captured scientifically and systematically. A key first step is identifying potential indicators of welfare and the practicality of their measurement. We assessed the feasibility of evaluating potential welfare indicators from opportunistically gathered video footage of four stranded odontocete species (n = 53) at 14 stranding events around New Zealand. The first stranded cetacean ethogram was compiled, including 30 different behaviours, 20 of which were observed in all four species. Additionally, thirteen types of human intervention were classified. A subset of 49 live stranded long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas edwardii) were assessed to determine indicator prevalence and to quantify behaviours. Four 'welfare status' and six 'welfare alerting' non-behavioural indicators could be consistently evaluated from the footage. Additionally, two composite behavioural indicators were feasible. Three human intervention types (present, watering, and touching) and five animal behaviours (tail flutter, dorsal fin flutter, head lift, tail lift, and head side-to-side) were prevalent (>40% of individuals). Our study highlights the potential for non-invasive, remote assessments via video footage and represents an initial step towards developing a systematic, holistic welfare assessment framework for stranded cetaceans.

Deathly Silent: Exploring the Global Lack of Data Relating to Stranded Cetacean Euthanasia.

The compromised state of stranded cetaceans means that euthanasia is often required. However, current knowledge and implementation of euthanasia methods remain highly variable, with limited data on the practicalities and welfare impacts of procedures. This study evaluated the available published data on cetacean euthanasia, highlighting knowledge gaps and providing direction to improve stranded cetacean welfare. A total of 2147 peer-reviewed articles describing marine mammal euthanasia were examined. Of these 3.1% provided details on the method used, with 91% employing chemical methods. Two countries, the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ), provided euthanasia reports to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) between 2007 and 2020. Methods employed were reported for 78.3% and 100% of individual cetaceans euthanised in the UK and NZ, respectively. In the UK, chemical euthanasia was most common (52%), whilst in NZ only ballistics methods were used. Few data were available about time to death/insensibility (TTD); 0.5% of peer-reviewed articles provided TTD, whilst TTD was reported for 35% of individuals in the UK and for 98% in NZ. However, IWC reports lacked detail on how death/insensibility were assessed, with multiple individuals "presumed instantly" killed. Overall, the findings highlight the lack of available information on cetacean euthanasia, and suggest increased data collection and the application of appropriate methods to improve welfare.

Increasing the Awareness of Animal Welfare Science in Marine Mammal Conservation: Addressing Language, Translation and Reception Issues.

Integrating welfare principles into conservation strategy is an emerging synthesis that encourages consideration of individual animals' quality of life in research, policies and law. However, these principles have gained limited traction in marine compared to terrestrial animal conservation. This manuscript investigates several factors that may be contributing to this disparity. In order to gauge current understanding of animal welfare science principles by marine mammal researchers and other stakeholders, a "Welfare in the Wild" workshop was convened at the 32nd European Cetacean Society conference (La Spezia, Italy, April 2018). The workshop was attended by 30 participants who completed pre- and post-workshop surveys on animal welfare principles. The survey results highlight a range of different views about exactly what animal welfare science is and how it can be applied to marine mammals. Specifically, participants' definitions appeared to vary depending on the type of employment or research they engaged in, indicating a need for an interdisciplinary common language. Secondly, we analysed the peer-reviewed literature in order to ascertain where marine mammal publications exploring welfare were being published. From 1950 to July 2020, a total of 299 articles featured both marine mammal taxa (one or more) and the word welfare in the title, abstract or keywords. This represents just 0.96% of the total peer-reviewed published papers on marine mammal taxa (n = 31,221) during the same period. When examining articles published within "Welfare and Ethics" (n = 6133) and "Aquatic-focused" (n = 139,352) journals, just 1.2% (n = 71) and 0.04% (n = 57) of articles, respectively, featured the word welfare when examining marine mammals. With the aim of exploring how explicitly including welfare evaluations in marine mammal research and management can benefit conservation outcomes, we framed our workshop and quantitative literature review findings to provide practical solutions to the language, translation and reception issues of this burgeoning cross-disciplinary collaboration.