Stranded whales, dolphins, and seals require specialized response that balances rescue likelihood against the welfare costs of intervention.
Marine mammal stranding welfare involves triage decisions with direct suffering implications. For live-stranded seals and small cetaceans, well-resourced responses with appropriate equipment can achieve high survival rates with good welfare outcomes. For mass-stranded large whales, the welfare calculus is more difficult — reflotation is resource-intensive, survival rates are variable, and the welfare cost of slow death from dehydration or secondary stranding must be weighed against euthanasia. The most welfare-protective approach combines rapid response capacity, species-appropriate triage criteria, and humane euthanasia for animals with poor prognosis rather than prolonged deterioration.