Timmy the stranded whale is dead. Please, let’s put animal welfare first and human emotion second

Since March, the world has watched live as a humpback whale lay stranded on a sandbank in German waters, far from the North Sea.

The stranded humpback whale was found in poor health, tangled in fishing gear with telltale cuts from a ship strike on its back. He was given the name Timmy.

Early attempts to rescue Timmy failed. As the weeks dragged on, public interest in his plight increased. The question was what to do. German politicians, animal welfare groups and concerned citizens debated euthanasia or rescue.

Despite experts pointing out Timmy was not well enough to be rescued, two millionaires reportedly chipped in €1.5m (A$2.4 million) to have him moved onto a barge filled with water, pulled by tugboat to the sea off the coast of Denmark and released on May 2. Just days ago, Timmy was found dead.

This story illustrates a clear principle – when it comes to an animal enduring suffering, we need to put their welfare first.

How did Timmy get stranded?

When a humpback whale becomes stranded, it’s usually a sign of poor health rather than poor navigation. Either way, the moment a whale becomes caught on a beach, the survival clock starts ticking.

For Timmy, the clock started in March when he was first found stranded off Germany’s Baltic coast. An excavator and dredger was used to free Timmy at least twice. The whale later became stranded again, many times.

During Timmy’s weeks-long strandings, people could watch on a 24-hour livestream. His plight is believed to be a unique case globally, as a large whale stranding multiple times in different places under constant observation. The German Oceanographic Museum described the situation as “uncharted territory”.

There were many concerns raised about Timmy’s welfare while stranded and during the rescue attempt. He was caught in low-salinity water, likely causing skin deterioration. His body weight likely crushed his internal organs – whales live in water and have likely never felt their own weight in air before. The whale was also vulnerable to sunburn.

Vocalisations – low-frequency sounds made by the whale – were heard while he was in the barge and being manoeuvred back into the sea. Unfortunately, we do not understand what these meant.

Given he was a mammal like you and me, it is possible Timmy was in pain. Large toothless whales such as humpback whales are known to have nerves like ours.

Was the rescue for humans – or for Timmy?

From an animal-welfare and ethics point of view, efforts to rescue Timmy were a bad idea. The whale was in very poor health. As a wildlife scientist, my view is that euthanasia was the kindest option.

Moving Timmy onto a barge would have likely caused him further pain and suffering. It’s no surprise he died not long after the rescue effort, given his already poor condition.

In fact, the rescue effort shocked marine scientists. Stranding experts from the International Whaling Committee described rescue efforts as “inadvisable” on grounds of animal welfare and human safety.

So why did it go ahead? Authorities allowed this to happen, perhaps feeling the weight of public opinion. Many people wanted to see Timmy released. As a whale expert, I can understand why people wanted to see this whale free. But it was never going to be simple.

Lessons not learned from Free Willy

For me, Timmy’s story reminded me of the film Free Willy, which was based on the true story of an orca named Keiko kept in captivity. In reality, Keiko was not suitable for release.

In the film, Free Willy is freed after caring humans mount a daring rescue and the orca swims happily away. But in real life, Keiko was freed at a cost of about A$28 million, failed to adapt to life in the wild, and died the following year.