Commercial whaling causes some of the most prolonged and severe deaths of any large animal harvest — and despite international restrictions, it continues in several countries.
Commercial whaling produces some of the most protracted and painful deaths of any large animal in any harvest system. Even explosive harpoons do not guarantee rapid death — whales may swim in apparent distress for many minutes after being struck, before being secured and killed. The welfare case against commercial whaling is exceptional both in the severity and duration of individual suffering and in the intelligence and social complexity of the animals involved. The economic argument for whaling is also weak — whale watching generates substantially more revenue with zero welfare cost to the animals.