Drive hunts in Japan (Taiji) and the Faroe Islands cause acute and prolonged suffering to dolphins and small whales, making them among the most internationally contested wildlife welfare issues.
The welfare science of cetacean drive hunts documents several categories of suffering. The drive itself — potentially lasting hours using noise and boat pressure — causes severe stress in animals with acute hearing sensitivity. Beaching and handling causes injuries and fear responses. Killing methods, even improved ones, may not achieve rapid loss of consciousness in animals as large and physiologically complex as pilot whales. Witnessing the killing of social companions — in species with tight family bonds — is a documented source of distress. Captured live dolphins destined for aquarium trade suffer prolonged captivity stress. The scale and social complexity of cetacean suffering in drive hunts places them among the most welfare-significant deliberate wildlife management practices currently conducted.