Narwhals are highly specialized Arctic cetaceans vulnerable to climate change, ice entrapment, and traditional hunting. Their welfare needs are poorly understood but increasingly important.
Narwhal welfare is shaped by their extreme specialization for Arctic conditions. Their stress response physiology - showing profound cardiac suppression when captured - suggests they are particularly vulnerable to handling disturbance. Ice entrapment events historically killed dozens to hundreds of narwhals unable to escape confined water areas. Climate change creates a complex picture: reduced ice may reduce entrapment risk but removes key habitat and exposes narwhals to new shipping and fishing threats. Traditional hunting by Inuit communities is legally regulated and culturally embedded in a context where animal welfare and Indigenous rights require respectful co-consideration.