Cetacean strandings — when whales, dolphins, or porpoises beach themselves — represent acute welfare emergencies requiring rapid coordinated response to minimise suffering.
Stranded cetaceans experience multiple simultaneous welfare harms: dehydration, overheating, circulatory problems from gravity pressing on organs, and in live animals, the distress of an alien environment. Mass strandings of social species present impossible welfare choices — separating animals may cause distress through social disruption, but leaving them together risks repeated restranding. The most welfare-positive response combines rapid professional assessment, supporting animals in water where possible, and realistic euthanasia decisions for animals with no survival prospect.