Dozens of beached whales euthanized in South Africa

South African law enforcement officials euthanized dozens of whales washed ashore on a beach near Cape Town. The whales were slowly dying of organ failure and were unable to go back to the sea.

About 55 pilot whales, large members of the dolphin family, washed up on Kommetjie beach in Cape Town shortly after dawn on Sunday. Three whales had died by late afternoon. National Sea Rescue Institute volunteers tried to get them back to the sea, using earth moving equipments. They managed to get more than 20 of the whales back into the water, but remaining 30 were too weak to go back into the sea. Rescuers decided to euthanize the remaining whales as they were slowly dying of organ failure.The whales were killed with a gunshot to the head. The police formed a barrier to prevent people from entering the area as many were trying to resist the shooting. Earlier, many among the crowd were injured in efforts to get the whales back to the sea. Mike Meyer, a scientist with Marine and Coastal Management, said euthanizing the whales was the most humane option in front of them.

We looked at all options including using a helicopter or navy landing craft to get them to sea, but they were not feasible. We even looked at using tugs.The whales were slowly dying of organ failure and were suffering.

It was still unclear why this group of whales had come ashore. Many say the mass stranding was caused by the navy's shooting in False Bay last week although the navy denied it completely.