Stranded cetaceans and pinnipeds require rapid welfare assessment and skilled response to maximise survival and minimise suffering.
Marine mammal stranding welfare involves acute decisions made under time pressure with incomplete information. The welfare of the stranded animal — which may be severely dehydrated, injured, or ill — must be assessed honestly against the realistic possibility of recovery and return to ocean life. Prolonged rehabilitation that maintains an animal alive but in poor welfare and without prospect of release is not a welfare-positive outcome. Response teams must combine skilled welfare assessment, appropriate supportive care, and willingness to make difficult euthanasia decisions when necessary. Public pressure to attempt release regardless of prognosis can compromise welfare-based decision making — education about realistic outcomes is part of responsible stranding response.