Humpback whales have recovered dramatically since the end of commercial whaling. Their recovery story offers lessons about what happens to whale welfare when hunting pressure is removed.
Humpback recovery demonstrates that removing a major welfare threat — systematic hunting — allows populations to restore natural welfare baselines. But recovery does not mean welfare freedom from human impact. Ship strikes cause traumatic deaths. Entanglement in crab pot lines and gillnets can trap whales for months, causing exhaustion, infection, and slow death. Noise pollution disrupts communication and feeding behavior. Prey depletion through overfishing reduces nutritional welfare. Climate-driven shifts in krill distribution force longer foraging journeys. Conservation success creates new welfare monitoring responsibilities: continued investment in entanglement disentanglement response is essential.