Marine mammal strandings - the beaching of cetaceans and pinnipeds - involve significant welfare considerations both for the animals and in the response process. Effective, welfare-positive response requires specialized expertise and coordination.
Marine mammal stranding welfare requires rapid, skilled assessment and decision-making. A stranded animal may be in acute distress, requiring immediate pain management and environmental stabilization. The decision between rescue, rehabilitation, and euthanasia is welfare-central: attempting to save a non-viable animal prolongs suffering. For viable animals, welfare during rehabilitation requires appropriate social conditions (solitary species vs. social species), diet management, minimizing human contact for wild-release candidates, and monitoring for stress indicators. Public interference with strandings - well-intentioned but untrained individuals attempting to help - can worsen outcomes and must be discouraged.