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The final 45 whales at Cheynes Beach have been euthanised after the pod re-beached themselves off the coast of southern Western Australia.
Despite attempts to help the animals from volunteers, the state’s Parks and Wildlife Service said euthanasia was the most humane option to “avoid prolonging their suffering”.
“It was a difficult decision for all involved however the welfare of the whales had to take precedence,” said the department on Wednesday night.
“We thank everyone who assisted with the attempt to save the whales over the last two days.”
confirmed on Thursday evening that the remaining whales would be euthanised.
On Wednesday morning, it was reported 51 whales in the stranded pod had died overnight.
Throughout the day hundreds of volunteers and Parks and Wildlife Service staff attempted to keep the animals alive and lead the pod into deeper water, however the whales became re-stranded later in the day.
More than 100 government staff and about 250 registered volunteers worked throughout the day, with assistance from small vessels and surf skis.
Incident controller Peter Hartley originally said he was optimistic the whales could be saved.
“It’s highly stressful for the volunteers and the staff and you have to have something to hold onto. We’re optimistic and hopeful at this stage,” he said.
Mr Hartley said the plan had been to nurse the whales until they felt they were strong enough for the attempt to get them to deeper water.
“We’re analysing their behaviour and once they’ve all recovered and we believe they are strong enough, we will then release them as a pod,” he said
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