Welfare considerations in marine mammal stranding response, including triage decisions, stress minimisation during rehabilitation, and release criteria.
Marine mammal stranding response requires balancing welfare of individual animals with practical constraints — not all stranded animals can be saved, and attempting to treat hopelessly ill animals may prolong suffering rather than helping. Experienced stranding responders develop triage frameworks that identify animals with reasonable survival prospects while providing humane euthanasia to those unlikely to recover. Rehabilitation of animals with good prognoses requires minimising stress through quiet environments, appropriate handling, and gradual transition back to natural conditions. Release criteria must be rigorous — releasing animals that cannot survive independently creates worse welfare outcomes than not releasing them.