Marine mammal strandings including whales, dolphins, and seals require coordinated welfare response that balances individual animal welfare during rescue with the practical constraints of field conditions and release success probabilities.
Marine mammal stranding welfare involves acute welfare decisions under uncertainty: is intervention more welfare-positive than non-intervention? Is release viable given the animals condition? Will rescue attempt stress cause more harm than the stranding itself? These decisions require trained assessment of the specific animals condition and realistic evaluation of release probability. Mass strandings overwhelm response capacity and require triage that accepts some individual welfare costs to manage the broader event. Single strandings with good prognosis represent cases where welfare-positive intervention is more clearly justified. Supporting trained stranding response networks provides the expertise and coordination that makes welfare-positive decisions possible.